Geeked about the engagement pics

heres a few:

We got our engagement pics back today and MAN ARE WE IN LOVE WITH THEM!!! Our photographer, michael bambino, and kim who put our "before the i do's" book together did SUCH a great job!!! we felt GREAT during the shoot but then i started to get nervous cuz sometimes i look like a total nerd ball when im smiling in pics cuz USUALLY i look like im fakin the small but these pics looked so great and no awkward smiles!! PHEW! lol...now that i think about it tho...maybe there was a lot of awkward photos but they just left them out haha...who knows!

We took a few "fierce" shots cuz we both have a fierce GQ/DIVA side of us that we like to pop up and be free now and again so we thought thatd be fun!! not to mention its gona be awesome when we can show the "fierce" pics to our kids one day to see just how hot mama and studly their parents "used to be" hahaha..."yes children...mommy and daddy WERE beasts!! killin the scene little ones...killin the scene!" lol...

the team at michael bambino studios have been so awesome to us as well...originally you just get a CD with all the pics on it so we could print them if we want (we have the original rights to all our pics) but they made a really cool book for us (no charge..cheddary biscuits!!) just cuz and then they liked our photo so much they made an xtra book and kept it for themselves to display at their studio! maurice and i felt rather honored! they should take pride in their work tho...i mean we arent the ugliest but they REALLY made the perfect shots...very pleased with what theyve done so far...lookin forward to wedding day pics :)

ok so on a different tip...ive been wanting to blog for SO long but just havnt bc the things i want to blog about are journal type, thought required blogs and i just havnt had the time/solitude to be able to sit down and really just journal...but i figure it takes no brains and point 2 seconds to blog about bein excited so figure ill get this one in before the rest which hopefully ill b able to start journalin soon! i gotta be in just the write mind frame, place, mood, etc to blog about actual thoughts/issues/etc and havnt found/had time for that place in a bit! lol...hopefully will be back soon dear blog to fill u with my thoughts...

My mother's day surprise..

So today before reese and i left for FPU (financial peace university) he told me to wear something nice bc he wanted to go out to dinner afterwards. At first, I was hesitant bc i had worked last night, got up early, and now was tired...but then i decided we hadnt been out in a long time and itd probabl be nice to have a date night so i put my hair up, put on my fave "snow leopard" (as we call it lol) dress and headed out the door to Crossroads.

**Side note: today's session was called "cash flow planning" and was about monthly budgets (including saving plans, spending plans, etc)...i am GEEKED about having our first "budget committee meeting"!!! For those of you who have been thru or are goin thru FPU u will appreciate this...i am DEF the "NERD" of the relationship so u already know how geeked making out budget plans and plannin IN GENERAL is for me and my fellow nerds! lol OK...back to the original program**

So reese and i walked out of crossroads and headed towards merchinski (the car)...he was driving bc he wanted to surprise me with where we were goin. As we start to get closer to our destination, I looked over at him and asked

"So what's the occassion for going out to dinner tonite?"

And in his loving tone he simply said..."Well...mother's day is this sunday and since we've been makin plans to do things with our moms that day and we'll probably be too busy tomorrow and saturday i wanted to make sure to take you out so we could celebrate YOUR mother's day..."

At this point, my body is melting and i can feel the tears building up...After a long pause i humbly thanked him.... "You have no idea how much that means to me"

And what he said next was my breaking point...i couldnt hold back the tears any longer..(now i didnt LOSE it yall...i didnt have the quivering lip and heavy sobs haha...but the tears found their ways down my cheeks)... the exact words i cannot quote...but his utmost respect and love for me, admiration for me following God's decision, and acknowledgment of my motherhood in its most essential sacrificial element rung loud and clear in his words...What i did was FOLLOW God's call and LOVE my daughter so I have never asked or looked for a pat on the back for what i did nor have i ever expected anyone truly understanding (or even TRYIN to understand) the depths of my love that is rooted in what is now a most beautiful story of love, sacrifice, and adoption. Regardless, there have been many friends and family who have supported me from day one and still do...and it's that very love and affirmation that touch my heart in a way nothing else can. It's like God speaking directly to me, reassuring me, encouraging me, and affirming his love for me. I am grateful that God gave me the strength to be the mother he created me to be..

Often times, around mother's day, I am briefly reminded of the pain that i once wore for clothing... only to be entirely overcome with awe of God's greatness, love, and strength provided to those who will simply receive it. God had a plan the whole time. I am so blessed to have been a part of it. And I'm so thankful for those who continue to love and support me in my motherhood... I never needed acknowedgment or affirmation bc I knew I had God's the whole time...a peace that truly surpassed all understanding...but moments like the one i had in the car with maurice i can feel God's presence more than ever..and even tho i dont need affirmation from maurice or anyone else but God alone, there is no denying the amazing gift of appreciation, respect, admiration, and love...especially for something i laid my heart out for...for moments like these God be praised.

So tonite's dinner turned into a surprise mother's day celebration...A reminder that even tho i acknowledge my motherhood i often forget to encourage myself and take pride in the road i have traveled...an affirmation of God's love and presence in my life. And a reminder of how BLESSED i am to have maurice to share my heart and life with...to be loved by, challenged by, encouraged by, and restored by.

With God's strength I took the road less traveled...thank you God for helpin me take that first step. And thank you all who have since then continued to take steps with me. In my mother's words..."my cup overfloweth"...

Save the Date

Soooo my future sister-in-law is super creative and does all this awesome business w pics and she made my brother n her save the dates and i loved it so much i asked how she went about it and then i messed around for a while on this website called picnik and this is wat i came up w! Not sure if we're def gona use this for the save the date cuz we havnt printed it out to see how it looks in print form so we'll see! so far this is wat we got!

Dave Ramsey's Day One: Super Saving!!

So today (well...technically yesterday now that it's officially Friday...) was our day one of our newest adventure: Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University!! I (the plan-lovin, organization crazed, information-nerd) was SO excited walking into the class. Believe it or not, money is an integral component of life..(i know...it's a deep revelation that just came to me in my sleep...im so happy to be sharing this BREAKING news with u lol). Being that money is so dag-gone important i figure im better off knowing how to handle it so i dont end up gettin handled by money ya feels me? I've always been the type to research things on my own...especially things that will bring me peace/security/freedom...im all about feelin free and one of the biggest causes of bondage is the greenery...the plasticry..that moo-lah-lah! SO, realizing this, i refuse to let money ever be a matter of distress/worry/bondage..and i ESPECIALLY dont ever want money to become a stressor in my marriage/family life...too many marriages are destroyed over finances (whether it's a lack of, disagreement over, etc) and our marriage will not be one of them.

Day one of FPU (financial peace university) is titled "Super Saving" and focuses on saving being a *PRIORITY* . Reese and I both are savers to begin with so saving shouldn't be THAT difficult for us...especially now when we dont have very many additional expenses (mortage, kids, etc). I think we're unbelievably fortunate that we are learning about saving and creating a strong financial foundation NOW (while we really have nothing) because then when we eventually both have good paying jobs and have more expenses and the such we will already have a strong foundation to build on. I, yet again, see God workin in our lives particularly regarding this financial business. Reese still hasnt landed a job (my heart just pours for those with families to support who cant find a job cuz MAN its a tough world out there), and since it's just my income we have grown accustom to living off of just the one paycheck and while sometimes we'd love a new car or to go out to eat more (etc etc) we are forced to find fun in other, less expensive, activities, and we are learning to just be content with what we have...now dont get me wrong...we still aspire to have a house one day and bring in more income, go on vaca's yada-yada-yada, but we are HAPPY with how we are now...and we are continuously forced to live within our means...and i really think that God is setting us up with a strong financial foundation for the rest of our lives...not to mention, i think it's easier to learn how to manage finances when you have very little to begin with bc your forced to prioritize.

WoW...im more tired then i thought id be...i feel like i just typed a whole paragraph and im not even sure if i made any sense...im not even sure wat i just typed to be honest...its like when ur reading a book, get to the bottom of the page, and then realize you have NO IDEA what you just read.. I just got so much goin thru my head i wanna say yet my brain isnt keepin up very well sooooooo yeah. I'll start typin using bullet points to try and keep me more focused

*Emergency fund:
So we are encouraged to save for three basic reasons: emergency fund, purchases, and wealth building. Reese and I are both excited about all of this...him more so because he has never had a credit card and has only paid for things in cash his whole life (which has its goods and bads to it...but for the most part pretty good cuz a) the man has only small debt due to school loans and b) he obviously knows how to live within his means and only buys things he KNOWS he can pay for) I'm more so excited bc saving sounds so secure and FREE to me! How nice it will be when something (insert: LIFE) happens and we will already have money stored away to help pay for those GUARANTEED pop-up expenses...life plain and simply happens...and i find so much freedom in knowing that we will have money stored just for those life incidences. No need to stress over how we're gona pay for it...we will have self-created insurance. That makes my whole body just say "Aaaaahhhh" (the relaxing "aahhh"...not scared "aahh!!" lol). Later on today we are going to take that first step to creating our emergency fund. I'm excited about it already!

*Living within our means:
As stated earlier, we are told to save for purchases as well. What a concept right? I wonder what our society would look like if we honestly lived within our means AND were thankful for whatever that "means" might look like. One thing i know for sure is there'd be a whole lot less greed, a lot more gratitude, and FREEDOM! There'd prolly also be a lot of frustration at first, too just cuz it would be such a transformation for so many to have to stop buying the things we always have even when all along we never really could afford it. Nobody ever said the road would be easy, right? All worth it in the end tho...well atleast one would hope lol

I, personally, think that when you really live within your means your purchases become a) more valuable bc u realize u cant just buy anything that makes ur eyes go googly so when u actually DO buy something you KNOW it's important and b) more rewarding! What a great feeling it will be to have bought something you've saved up for and then pay for it upfront! You've reached your goal! EUREKA!! haha. And then obviously it will feel good not having a dark cloud of rainy dreary DEBT hanging above our heads!

*Wealth building:
I really love this reason to save for more than one reason.
#1 I, as crazy as it may sound, want to retire one day and not have to continue to work to stay above water. Now...i enjoy working and being active so im always going to be doing SOMETHING, but i dont want to be working at age 70 bc i HAVE to in order to put food in the belly.
#2 I think it's just a responsible thing to do and a great way to maintain peace of mind knowing we've been takin the steps to live comfortably after retirement
#3 I want to start building wealth in our future little ones' funds
#4 I want to save money to build into causes i support...there's going to be a whole discussion on giving back later on in the course but i think it ties in already...we want to build wealth so we can give it away...money does what u want it to do...it can control u...stress u out...define u...support u..help others...etc. Dave Ramsey states " money requires you to take the initiative to control it"...WE do with money what we CHOOSE to do with money...its all about personal choice (so much for blaming others for ur financial situation lol)...a personal choice i want to make is to not hoard it. I am EXTREMELY frugal and for the most part that's been a good thing for me..but i dont ever want to be SO focused on saving that i forget to SHARE it...both on myself/my family AND others. The Bible emphasizes tithing...maurice and i really want to be doing more of this. Our church does SO much for SO many and we want to be contributers to all the things our church community is doing for the kingdom of God (yes we can do things for others without the exchange of any money BUT theres so much that can further be done to reach out to and build into others that require a little cold hard cash)...Also, i want to know that we can help out friends/family if the need might arise...money is not just for the taking and keeping...it comes and goes...and should continue to come and go

Some of the charts/numbers that were displayed were staggering too! It's crazy how with education and discipline we really can grow wealth! One example was that if a 19yr old put away $2000 a year at 12% for only 8 years and then quite putting money in that account but didnt touch the money and just let it continue to grow til he was 65 he'd have $2,288,996 in that account! So $16,000 turned into $2,288,996 with a little education on investing and discipline to put away $2000 a year (thats only $167 a month folks) by the time this kid turned 65! CRAZY! EMPOWERING!!

The scripture that went along with the discussion of disciple was Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of rightesouness and peace for those who have been trained by it".

Needless to say, reese and i walked out of the class both so excited about the class and those to come and the resultant peace we will hopefully have for years to come attributed to what we are learning and disciplinin ourselves on now. Another great bonus is, unbeknownst to us, a few of our friends are takin the class, too! Reese's "other parents" were there (whom i have grown to love as well...very easy to love people) and then of his high school buddies and his gf were there too! Lookin forward to more weeks with them...and more empowerment from good ol Dave Ramsey!

p.s. its only been the first day and i ALREADY recommend this to EVERYONE whether you're in debt, already doin ok financially, young, old, whoever! So check it out!

Get ya money right!!

So I was just flipping thru my calendar and realized that the hubbers and i will be starting our newest adventure together in less than two weeks! What is this wonderful new adventure i speak of? It's called Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University...and we are geeked! (ok soooo im prolly a bit more geeked cuz im a nerd and get excited about stuff like this..totally fine lol)

The program usually is hosted at a church or rec center and focuses on building strong financial habits...it supposedly teaches principles that help people get their money situation together by becoming debt FREE and then building wealth (both "self" wealth and wealth for others...which i think is flippin awesome). Reese and I have always been pretty good with finances, and we really dont have that much debt (the only debt we DO have is some school loan stuff) but we figure it's really important to be as educated as possible...ESPECIALLY when it comes to finances...I've always heard finances are a lead killer in marriages and while i dont see that happening w us even if we DONT take this course we still think it will worth our time and create a much more *free* life for us... No matter how hard ya try to live a smooth sailin life SOMETHING (insert: "life") will happen and throw ya for a loop...we just dont want poor financial planning on our part to be the reason for the bump in the road. Not to mention, we really want to learn more about investing so i really feel like this class will be great...yes, yes i do!!

The course is made up of 13 sessions held once a week and each session focuses on a given topic relating to finances (obviously lol).. i really think they ALL sound great and will be a great foundation for us to build on...as much as i want to say and believe "money isnt important" the SHOCKING reality is that welp...it is. Now i still truly believe ya cant BUY happiness...but being in control of your finances (versus ur finances controllin you), living within your means, and being at peace with all of this most DEFINITELY can bring happiness! i refuse to have money be a burden on our lives and our marriage and i will do watever i can to make sure it never becomes one.

I can't believe ive had enuf downtime at work to blog right now...SHOCKER! This week has been madness....and this coming week has the possibilty of bein even crazier cuz we have OR cases almost everyday and cath cases as well...and yet we only have TWO open beds as of now...which will already go down to one bed tomorrow. So needless to say this week will be crazy..and since i picked up extra (cant stop askin myself "WHY?!?" now lol) i will be experiencin all this madness hands on...whoop whoop! lets get get get it! orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr not. either way...ill be here. And im thankful for this downtime at work instead of bein caged inside on a beautiful day AND runnin around like a chicken w his head cut off.

i really wont have a time off stretch til next weekend..but even then ill be runnin around! but for good things! my "niece's" angelversary celebration is a week from today (on the 18th it will be 5 years that God took her home...cant believe it). It will nice to be with friends and family...esp cuz i feel like i havnt seen em in FOR-EV-ER! Then reese and i might be headin up to south beezy on sunday for my cousin's confirmation but not sure yet...we most likely will be but ill be in the process of switching to night shift schedule and i dont wanna screw myself and end up barely making it thru monday night...SOOOOO well see! I'm 95% positive we'll make it up tho...so even tho ill have 3 days off ill def be runnin around everywhere! for good things tho...with good people...oh yea and i have my second softball game friday!! WAHOOTY!! lol had tons of fun last nite so lookin forward to this friday...im so thankful i work w fun people...work life could be very unfortunate if i didnt!!!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOk...back to work...changin the outcome...savin lives..ya know ya know lol

My shoulder hurts...

So something is wrong with my shoulder...reesaferd and i have been workin out doin the P90X stuff for 2 weeks now and suddenly i go down to do a push up and my right shoulder just gives way...i tried again and sure enough...down i went...NOT COOL...so ive just been tryna keep my arm stabilized and not doing much extra with it, but everytime i push on a door to open it i feel it hurtin...i feel it in certain motions when lifting too...very unfortunate...especially cuz i was really liking push ups believe it or not!!! i been lovin this P90X business...it's been a doozy now dont get me wrong!! but i feel great!! and now i really cant do all the arms and even some of the yoga cuz my shoulder wont hold me...im gonna go see a doc soon about it...well actually ill be seein the doc about that AND my second problem...MY TOTAL CHOLESTEROL IS 238!!! I've been known i had high cholesterol bc i got it checked a year or so ago, but my MD wasn't TOO concerned bc my HDLs was really high so at least alot of my total cholesterol was GOOD cholesterol...but now my cholesterol is even higher! even with me eating healthier and workin out 6/7 days of the week! u hav GOT to be kiddin me genetics!!! cellulite and high cholesterol...come on now!!! lol. I've always been really conscious of my *heart* health...my grandpa don died of a massive heart attack and my grandpa kovatch had a few strokes...BOTH had high cholesterol...and my SUPER HEALTHY mother even has high cholesterol..sad sad story folks...sad sad story... now i dont know my cholesterol breakdown cuz it was a free screening so all i got was the TOTAL cholesterol but REGARDLESS...238!!! thats way too high...so unfortunately i have to talk to a doc about that as well...it looks like im buyin myself some lipitor or something. I REALLY hope that all of ye people out there take care of themselves and get routine check ups cuz you just never know what's brewin inside...regardless of what the outside looks like and how healthy you THINK you are...cuz i mean let me be evidence Exhibit A...workout...in shape...eat healthy...and some serious high cholesterol brewin inside tryin to get me!! but i wont let it!! noooooooooo no i wont! anyhoots- take care of your temples...check the inside and out...and both MENTALLY and PHYSICALLY...

Anyhoots! off the health topic...on to wedding stuff!!! Been meeting with 920,768 florists (or atleast it feels like it lol) and we met with our last contender today so hopefully be doin some price comparisons soon and then making a decision...we aren't too hung up on flowers..just simple and elegant so it hasn't been hard...and we DEF aren't making it a big expense...we've actually been BEASTS with the budgeting!! We have kept ourselves WAY under budgest...im rather proud of us. We've also done a bunch of caterer tastings which has been AH-MAZ-ING!!! our reception site doesnt have an in-house caterer but what they do is either a)u bring your own in or b) you use one of the 3 they work with. SO we been eatin our hearts out with those 3 caterers!!! We always laugh when we leave the caterer cuz we feel like we robbed somebody or something...ya go in...GET YA DAG-GONE GRUB ON...and then leave lol no cost...just full bellies :) after we met with all 3 we decided on one and got so excited bc they had everything we wanted and it was all SO delicious! and then...a few days later...i get an email stating that that specific caterer is no longer in partnership with our reception site!!! figures right? apparently if any vendor that works with our reception site doesnt get rated 10/10 from the brides then they get dropped!! i was like seriously? well WE liked them! So essentially, now we get to go get our bellies fed for free again at the other two as if the slate is clean and hopefully make a choice between the two. Each one of them had ONE thing we didnt really like so the plan is for them to try to tweak a few things and then hopefully we'll feel just as happy with choosing them (whichever one it is) as we were with our first choice...dont get me wrong...neither of the leftover choices were BAD...but they DEF weren't as good as the one we chose...but watever...it happens right? just roll with the punch...

the other decision that has to get made soon is the bridesmaid dresses...chels and i went and scoped some out 2 weeks or so ago and found some super pretty dresses and then she just found another so nowwwww just gotta pick one! lol...i think they are all very pretty and will look B-E-A-UTIFUL on all of my lovely ladies!

I suppose the only other things for us to do now is get our engagement pics done with our photographer (who we are GEEKED about)...and start looking into honeymoon spots...a nurse i work with used a travel agent nearby and really recommended her so i think we're gonna try that...we're hoping to go somewhere warm and with a swim up bar...neither one of us are drinkers like that but i always thought that sounded fun! hey i might be swimmin up just for a raspberry ice tea or lemonade but itll be fun non-the-less!! lol

Now im startin to get tired...ive been wanting to blog for a while but whenever i get down time i always find myself chillin outside or runnin around somewhere so by the time im sittin down at the apt im watchin a movie w the hubs and keep the computer closed...i gotta work tomorrow mornin too...i feel like i been livin at the j-o-b recently...i picked up extra shifts basically all this month which tires me just thinkin about it! but hey the paycheck will be good right? right.

Tonight i had my first CICU (my unit at work) team softball game and had a blast! softball isnt really my gig...i played baseball with my brothers when i was little but thats really the extent of it...so i just goofed off mainly lol...i think i got some serious potential with my batting skills but i really dont like outfield...i always hope it doesnt come to me..ESPECIALLY cuz i dont wanna have to throw the ball back and literally end up throwin my shoulder out for real...i wish i could just be a base runner...id be good at that lol it was fun tho...i work with some perdy fun individuals so its alllll good. I gotta take my glove back that i bought today tho...apparently its the size of a kids tee-ball glove ...my hand fit in it so i just got it...i dont know the difference haha...buyin a new glove is on the list of things-to-do most def! thankfully one of the other nurses was oh so kind as to let me use hers (and the crowd says "AWWWWWWW!") lol. Wat we NEED to do is get a volleyball or flag football team together...then id actually be decent and contribute more than just goofin off and cheerin...although id be doin both of those still as well...id just be good at it too! and i love volleyball and football soooooooooo im gona start workin on startin those teams

Well it looks like its bedtime now...its actually PAST my bedtime sooooooooo nighty night!! Be healthy! Don't skip anual check ups! Better to find something early and do something about it then find out when its almost too late...preventative care and primary care are the one to go my friends i promise ya...

Giggidy

SoOoOoOoOoOo BoReD

So it's 3:13 am as i start to type this. I've been at work now for 8 hours. Still have 4 more to go. Glory. My kid-o was busy at first, but she's been behaving and not doing anything too funky so for the past FOREVER ive just been sitting here. Hanging out with my other lovely nurses. Bored.

I suppose I am happy im bored because that means my kid is doing good (for the circumstances..it's all relative around here lol)...but GEESH ive exhausted all internet searching and i dont feel like reading right now in fear of falling asleep...and i couldnt think of anything really to blog about but seriously i couldnt check facebook again...even tho when im bored thats what i seem to do but i never seem to get anywhere. I just end up messaging a gang of people or i find myself flipping thru someone's pics that i dont even know only to suddenly realize "hey...i dont know this person" and then feel awkward and sign off. Only to sign back on in 30 minutes when i find myself bored again hoping that MAYBE one of my FRIENDS has posted something worth while. Although most of my friends aren't up at this hour sooooooooooooooo essentially the cycle just continues. I probably check all 4 of my email inboxes, facebook, theknot.com, the weather, and sibcy.com 900,000 times in one slow night. Now when it's busy and i got a really ACTIVELY sick kid then it's a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY. I barely get time to breathe which is kind of nice actually bc then when i finally sit down to catch that long lost breath i realize 9 hours have passed and it's almost time to hop in Merchinski (the vehicular) and head home. Not to mention i atleast feel PRODUCTIVE on those days...nights like tonite i feel more like a babysitter...which isnt always the worst thing bein that i love kids...ooooo unless they r fussy kids. Then i dont love them as much hahahaha jk jk jk...well im KIND OF just kidding lol. When they are consistently fussy for 12 hours ya just seem to lose that sympathetic "oh let me comfort you" feeling. Ya fight thru it, but sheesh i wish some of these fussy babies would listen to my wise words when i tell them, oh so lovingly, that they won't be liked in high school if they continue to be so whiney! Hopefully they heed my advice one day. I'm just lookin out for their social lives! They'll thank me one day. If only they knew...

Well now that im officially babbling i realize i DO have some things id like to *share*. Ah yes.. share time. The joys. WOW...IMMEDIATE INTERRUPTION OF THOUGHT NECESSARY: i was just offered a bootleg copy of "Ghetto fights part 3 and 4" by one of our PCA's... umm THANKS but no thanks!! He cracks me up tho...extra ghetto comin at me with BOOTLEGS of GHETTO FIGHTS tho. lol. So ghetto. and SO hilarious. Oh how i love people. Ok soooo back to share time.

*A Time to Travel?*

Maurice and i have been thinkin more and more about me doing traveling nursing and us going somewhere WARM for while! Most traveling nursing agencies won't take nurses until they have at least a year of experience and i wont have one year under my belt until July. Which is FINE bc we wouldn't want to travel until after our *Big Day* anyway. We just figure if Reese hasn't found a job that he really enjoys and is worth staying here for then why not get PAID (living expenses and health insurance are paid for) and go live somewhere WARM for a bit! Not to mention we'd be able to save ALOT of money cuz we'd basically pocket everything...and there's a big tax break for traveling nurses so id even be making more...kinda seems like a win-win situation! Reesaferd was thinkin maybe he could get certified as a personal trainer so then he could find a job wherever we go doing that. Figure we could do our traveling/exploring thing for maybe a year (MAYBE two), and then by the time we come back we'll have a DECENT chunk for a down payment on a *house* and we can be back by our family and friends. We both really want our kids to grow up around their family and our close friends so unless everybody decides to get up and move it looks like we'll end up in indy or cincinnati! But only God knows what's all really gonna happen. The traveling idea sure sounds delicious tho. Although we'd OBVIOUSLY be happy if reese landed a good job now...but let's face it...the market SUCKS. And ALOT of employers dont know what they are missing by not giving mah baby a chance. No they dont.

I'd have to figure something out tho with my job here cuz i love it so much i wouldn't want to set myself up for possibly not being able to work here again when i get back. Plenty of nurses here have left and traveled or worked somewhere else for a bit and then were able to come back, but they just lose their seniority i guess..i have no seniority to lose tho soooooo its all good haha. But we'll see what the man upstairs has in store for us.

Ok...time for 4 o'clocks...got lives to save around here in case u didnt know...changing the outcome baby....changing the outcome...