Things I am Thankful for Daily...

These are some things I am thankful for daily:

1) A wonderful husband, who is supportive when I feel down.

2) Amazing family and friends.

3) God's abiding and steadfast love.

4) A roof over my head, clothes to wear, and food to eat.

5) Eternal life, given to us through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

6) My education, though I am not exactly using it employment-wise at the moment, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

7) Being self employed and slowly building my business.  Mary Kay has been an interesting endeavor and I'm excited to see where I can go with it.

8) Having an imagination, which gives me the opportunity to be creative in many ways.

I am thankful for all of these things equally every day and for waking up daily to experience a new adventure.

October Fun so Far

September was a tough and slow month.  I substituted at the elementary school in Fairfield at the beginning of September and haven't subbed again since.  I volunteered to help out with school pictures on September 15th, which was an eye opener.  I am definitely not cut out to teach anything but at a college/university level.  I am not yet convinced that doing a PhD will be in my future.  I am hoping to take a couple of years off from the academic world because the MTh slowly killed my will to do any more school stuff for a while. 

Unfortunately, the work situation has been dismal.  I am still selling Mary Kay and for the whole month of October I am doing a fundraiser using my Mary Kay business to raise money.  I hope to be able to donate $500 or more to a fantastic organization called Metavivor.  This group puts 100% of donations towards research of Stage 4 breast cancer, which most other organizations do not do.  So far my fundraiser hasn't been going very well, but my hope is that it will pick up soon.

My full time job right now is looking for a full time or part time job.  Even a part time job that pays well will help with student loans.  It is quite tragic that I can't find a job in my degrees, history without getting more education, when I can't even afford to pay back the education I already have.  No one tells you that part.  They continuously tell you that there is something out there.  Yeah, really?!  Well where the hell is it?!

This past Tuesday, I got a pretty good answer, which was exciting for me.  I went to a Montana History Preservation workshop in Fort Benton, Montana and got the chance to learn about several organizations that work towards preserving Montana state history.  Though I don't know much about Montana state history, I am now trying to get my hands on as many books about Montana history as possible so I can participate in some of the great things these organizations are doing and maybe in the process get a job. 

Some days are harder than other since we lost the baby in July.  My hormones are still off the rail, but I can tell that they are calming down a little, which is good.  Someday we'll try again.

This week I will be taking the amtrak to Minnesota to go to the So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour with Karen and Erica on Thursday evening/night.  I'll get into St. Paul on Thursday morning around 7am and will be leaving Minnesota at 11pm-ish Friday night and get back into Shelby, MT at 5:30pm-ish on Saturday.  So basically it will be a quick trip but an awesome trip.  I am so freaking excited! :)

So that is what's been going on so far in October in Big Sky Country. 

My Adventures in August and with Mary Kay

August was a busy month for me.  At the beginning of the month I had to deal with side-effects of my D&C.  I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say it was very unpleasant.  Once it all cleared up though, things physically became easier to tolerate.

Jason and I headed to Illinois on August 12th for our friends' Tauna and Erik's wedding.  It was a blast and I'll be posting pictures soon on facebook.  Then we ventured our way to Minnesota and stayed with my family for a few days.  Jason left for Montana on the 16th and I stayed until the following Sunday.  While I was in MN I spent a lot of time in my old seminary stomping grounds, which was fun. :)  I attended one of my best friend's baby shower hosted by another one of my best friends.  It was a good time.  It was hard to be there, mostly because anyone who knew Jason and I lost our baby didn't quite know how to talk to me or what to say in front of me.  Here's an idea; how about just talk about whatever and let me feel like just another guest.  But really, overall it was a nice afternoon. :)  I'll be posting pictures of the baby shower soon on facebook too.

When I got back home from MN, it submitted my application to be a substitute teacher at the Fairfield Public Schools and then got finger printed so they could make sure I am not a criminal.  I haven't gotten any calls yet, but it is only the second week of school so I am not worried.  If it gets to be a month and I haven't heard anything, then I'll start to panic.

In the meantime, as many of you know, I am selling Mary Kay products.  Most of my business I do with my online website, because it is more convenient for myself and those who want to order.  The customer can go online 24/7 and order whatever they want, whenever they want and don't have to wait for me to get it to them or come to their house.  I am getting the word out around my small town that I sell Mary Kay and am available to throw parties and do one on one consultations.  Apparently I am late to the party though because many women who I have talked to about Mary Kay already have someone else they buy from in town already.  So for now, I will have to find ways to advertise online and around town some more without coming off as completely obnoxious.  Since Mary Kay at the moment is my only income contribution to our household, I really need and want  to succeed with it.  So we'll see how it goes.

So overall life in August has had it's ups and downs.  September is shaping up to be much the same so far.  And September is our Anniversary month.  Our anniversary was on Sunday and we had a fantastic day together.  We travelled down to Helena for the day after Jason led two church services and we had a quick lunch.  I'll be posting a few pictures on facebook of what we saw there.  We mostly walked around the old downtown area and then had a wonderful dinner at a place called The Silver Star.  Just a note: if/when you go there, don't get the Pacific Stuffed Cod.  It's not very good.  But the appetizer of crab and artichoke dip and the soup and dessert where freaking fantastic!

So my goal for September, barring any crazy crap happening is to continue working on building my Mary Kay online and in-person business.  I also want to get the senior high youth group going with the joint church youth group.  I'm thinking game night at our house where we can all get to know each other and plan out events that they want to do, service projects to do in the area, and talk about the National Youth gathering next July.  I am going to continue to look for employment opportunities and take all substitution offers when available.  Student loan payments are creepy closer and there's no more time to mess around.

Just some random thoughts...

Though the books will be around forever, the movie franchise of Harry Potter is now over.  It feels like the end of an era to me.  Much like when your favorite show is given the chance to have a final episode, for me that was LOST.  I liked the final movie.  It was well done and kept in all the essentials.  It was a little slow at first because the viewer had to remember where they left off in the first part of Harry Potter 7, but once that first part was done, the rest of the movie was great. :)

I cried at the end, not because it was sad, but because it was over.  Finito, Done.  No more movies to be made and have masses of people around the world sitting in a movie theater at midnight when they should probably be sleeping because they have to be to work by 8 or 9 am the next morning.

And now I have a confession to make.  I only owned book 6 and 7 of Harry Potter for a very long time.  After Jason and I were finally able to go see the final movie this last Sunday because I was finally feeling like I could leave the house for a little while, I went across the street from the theater to Barnes & Noble and bought the rest of the books.  So now I can read them whenever I want.  YAY me!  And even though I hated the 5th and 6th movies, I feel compelled to go and buy them.  I'm not sure why, I suppose it is the complete the series mentality, but also for nostalgia and so our future children can watch them when they are old enough and get into Harry Potter.  Kind of like the Lord of the Rings books and movies and yes, for me also Twilight (yes it is a guilty pleasure so just smile, nod and let it go. ;)) 

Anyway, I started reading another of Alison Weir's novels.  This one is about Eleanor of Aquitaine and frankly I am only 13 pages into it and want to stop reading it and start reading the Harry Potter series again instead.  That is how unimpressed I am with the book I am reading.  This is not a slam again Harry Potter, it's just that once I commit to reading a book, I feel obligated to finish it, even if it sucks.  It is disappointing because I read Alison Weir's non-fiction biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine and it was fantastic.  I wish the woman would just stick to what she is good at and write non-fiction.  I did read another one of her novels called "The Lady Elizabeth" which was pretty good, but then I read her non-fiction "The Children of Henry VIII" which she must have based the novel on because a lot of the same stuff was in both. 

Jason is working on his sermon for tomorrow morning right now and I am slowly getting caught up on my TIME magazine reading, but really waiting for him to take a break so we can watch another episode of Season 1 of LOST.  Yeah, we are starting to rewatch the series which is AWESOME by the way and I just can't get enough. :)  Hopefully soon he will take a break and I can get my fix. :)

Regrouping yet again...

I have been through some pretty craptacular stuff in my life, but last Monday around 4pm was one of the worst days of my life.  Jason and I went to my regular monthly baby check up only to find out that our baby had died, probably sometime during week 11.  At the time of the check up it was almost week 14.  I was then told I would have to have a formal ultrasound the following day to make certain that my doctor was right.  It was a rough night of making many phone calls to family and close friends.  Earlier on Monday, Jason and I finally decided to make an announcement on facebook about our pregnancy because we were both very excited and happy.  Now we had to figure out how to make the announcement that we lost the baby. 

It was a long week of going back and forth to Great Falls which is 35 minutes away from Fairfield.  Finally after finding out on Monday that I was carrying our dead baby around inside of me for possibly almost 3 weeks, on Friday early morning I had a D&C.  What's a few more days of anguish and sadness.  After the procedure, I was given some powerful pain medication that made me extremely loopy and gave me insomnia that first night.  I felt no physical pain and no pain in general because I barely knew what was going on around me. 

I forgot to mention, on Monday morning my parent's left to head back to Minnesota after spending a week and a half with us and celebrating Jason's ordination.  After we called them Monday evening, they turned around about 100 miles outside of Bismarck and came back and stayed with us until Saturday morning after my procedure.  Jason's mom also came down and stayed with us until Saturday morning.  It was a God send to have them here with us that whole miserable week. 

Saturday was another rough day, but with the meds I was able to just relax and I spent the whole day reading and sleeping.  Sunday, I skipped church.  I just wasn't ready to face anyone and to talk about what happened.  The two congregations have been amazingly supportive and I am confident that I will be ready to attend church this Sunday.  Sunday we also decided to venture out of the house and go into Great Falls.  We went and saw Harry Potter 7, Part 2 and it was great.  Unfortunately the 2-D version was sold out by the time we got there so we ended up seeing the 3-D one.  Note to self, go see the movie again in 2-D, the 3-D was too dark and I feel like I missed somethings because of it.  Oh darn, having to go see HP7, P2 again, what a shame. ;P

Monday was another stay at home day for me, but in the afternoon in 90 degree heat we went for a walk around town and stopped at one of the local restaurants and had ice cream then walked back.  We started watching LOST from the beginning and are going to slowly make our way through the whole seriese.  Jason stopped watching it for awhile so he has some seasons to catch up on. :)

Yesterday we went up to Choteau, the county seat to get our new MT licenses.  We got there a little after 9:30 and didn't leave until around 2:30.  Their system is antiquated and bullshit.  After waiting forever to get through the line, we got a tour from the Lutheran Pastor in Choteau of the nursing homes there and I joined the library up there, which is something I've wanted to do for awhile. 

Today is another relaxing day.  I am going to go for my daily walking to the high school and find out what I need to do to get my name on the substitute list for this school year and then head over to the local coffee/nail boutique/liquor store to drop off some Mary Kay business cards if there is room for them.  The women who own the local coffee/nail boutique/liquor store belong to one of the churches that Jason is now Pastor of.  They are some really neat ladies!  While I am there I am going to set up an appointment to get a mani/pedi.  After the shit week I had last week, I think I deserve it!

And so now it is time to regroup and begin again.  After my appointment on August 3rd Jason and I will have a better idea of where I am at healing wise physically.  Mentally and emotionally it will be a while before we heal from this tragedy.  But we are also not deterred and when we are ready we will try again to get pregnant and hopefully when it happens again, it will end with a lovely healthy living baby.

I have been through some bad times in my life and this is one of the worst, but because I have been through bad times before, I know that a lot of prayer, a lot of support from family and friends and others, and a lot of time, will eventually make life calm down to the point of being livable again.  For God is always with us in joy and in sorrow and I have faith in that promise, even when it is hard to fathom it.

Two blogs no more

Life has been so hectic lately and it doesn't look like it is going to calm down anytime soon.  So I decided to delete my second blog and just write on this one instead.  Much to update people on, but for now I will just leave it for another time.

My parental units are visiting for a while and they leave Monday morning after Jason's ordination.  Jason's ordination is on Sunday afternoon and he preaches Sunday morning.  It is going to be a great day.

I am going to see the final Harry Potter movie on Monday afternoon after my doctor's appointment.  I can't wait!  I have only read one bad comment about it so far among many fantastic ones. 

More updates to come on Monday when I have more time. 

Good Bye Minnesota! It's been fun!!!

I am no longer a resident of the great state of Minnesota.  We had some wonderful times together.  We had some not so great times together as well.  I will not miss the humid, hot summers and freezing cold winters.  I have moved to a place with my husband Jason that is supposedly more temperate in temperature.  I think that is a big fat lie. 

Last Wednesday, June 15th, Jason and I arrived in Fairfield, Montana, our new home.  Jason has taken a call at Fairfield Lutheran Parishes, which is exciting for us.  So far it has been very pleasant and we are slowly unpacking our crap.  I am going even slower than Jason is.  He won't let me lift any boxes that are not as light as a feather.  This makes it hard when I need to move stuff around to get to my books which are the most important things I feel the need to unpack of course. 

I miss my family and friends like crazy.  The unpacking process is keeping me busy enough right now so I don't have too much time to dwell on it.  If I actually had the time to dwell on it I would just sit and stare at the wall all day depressed.  No time for that though.  Too much to do already. 

I am starting over with my Mary Kay stuff here in Fairfield.  I didn't have time or the inclination to do too much with it when I was still living in the cities.  Now that it is going to take me a while to find a job, unless something miraculously drops into my lap, selling Mary Kay can help supplement my/our income for awhile. 

Sadly I will not be able to walk in this year's 3-Day for the Cure Walk anymore.  Circumstances have it that I just can't physically do it because I overheat so easily and suffer from heat stroke.  In the middle of August when it is hottest in Minnesota is when the walk is, so clearly that is a problem.  So sadly I will have to put it off for another year.  My goal is to try again in two years.  I also need to get better at my fundraising.  This is where selling Mary Kay will help because it will help me be more confident in selling my product, which in the case of the walk is the importance of raising money to help find a cure for breast cancer. 

Things I miss about Minnesota, the twin cities especially are having a movie theater close, having many places to chose from when dining out, the trees (apparently Montana doesn't believe in trees,) and of course my family and friends.  It will take me a while to get used to life here in Montana and I know I will find myself comparing things to Minnesota for a long time to come. 

I will miss you Minnesota!  It's been quite the adventure!

Time at Warp Speed Ahead...

Time lately feels like it is going warp speed ahead.  Despite my utter frustrations with the thesis process and the professors involved, in a week from today I will be defending my thesis to these people.  It has not snuck up on me because I have been waiting for it to happen for a month and some days now.  I am determined to defend my thesis to the death (figuratively of course) so I do not have to make any further changes and can go forth from now on, meeting the appropriate deadlines.

One thing that has snuck up on me though is Jason's first call process.  A few weeks ago, he got a call from the bishop of Montana synod saying she would like him to interview with a two point parish in small town Montana.  This town is called Fairfield and is located 20-25 minutes away from the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains.  The bigger city in the area is Great Falls which is 40 miles East and the county seat is 20 miles or so north. 

Being a city girl, this will be a huge transition for me, but I am more and more excited to start that new adventure, despite the initial anxiety it will cause.  Anyway, a week or so later, he got a call from the assistant to the bishop who is currently leading services at the parishes until they hire a full-time pastor (Jason?!)  Last Thursday the church council and call committee received Jason's name as a candidate to interview for the pastor position and they called him right away to talk to him and figure out when he could go out for said interview.  Jason called them back on Saturday and it looks like we will be heading to Fairfield, MT the last weekend in April for the interview.  They are flying me out as well to be a part of the process which I am happy about.  I've been told that after the interview, the council and call committee will have a vote about Jason and then will extend the vote a few weeks later to the whole congregation.  If they vote yes to hire Jason on as their pastor, they will extend him a call and then things will go from warp speed to chaos.

We are beginning the discussion of when he should start.  We are thinking the middle to last part of June, mostly because we will need time to pack up our crap and move it out to the parsonage in Fairfield.  I am going to be done with my job at the office at the end of May, probably the week before or the week of graduation, which is on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. 

Of course, this is all predicated on the fact that Jason is extended a call to this two point parish in Fairfield, but who am I kidding; they'll love him.

Then after graduation if Jason is extended the call, there is his ordination.  And moving.  And saying good-bye to my family and friends who are in Minnesota.  And the 3-Day walk in August with the weekend before being the wedding of two fantastic friends of ours.  And getting a job to pay for student loans and our two dogs.  And learning how to garden and crochet (again.)  And........... Will I ever get to relax?!  Who knows!

So time right now and for the forseeable future is going warp speed ahead captain and I am along for the ride.

These Times are a Changin'

Last night when I got home from work it was still light out!  Awesome! 

I go back and forth on a minute by minute basis about moving to Montana in the near future.  Most of the time I am looking forward to the new adventure and then a few minutes later I become panicked by the idea of being stuck out in the middle of nowhere and unable to find a job.  Mostly I am excited in a good way though.

I have to wait till the week of April 11th to do my oral defense for my thesis, which is about a week and a half later than the April 1st deadline.  I got the okay from the GTE office though, so I'm not going to worry about it.  It means I will have to scrabble to meet the April 15th deadline, but whatever, it's not like I have a job or anything that I can take off time whenever I want and spend the needed hours in the library making corrections on my thesis before April 15th...no, none of that happening here.  Neither am I bitter about it either.  So I throw my hands up in defeat and say fuck it and move on.

Spring is starting to show itself in subtle ways.  This is exciting because if I see another snow flake I might just have to end it all.  (I'm not being serious, just sarcastic.)

I'm keeping myself busy with work and reading for fun, since I have nothing better to do, until the week of April 11th.  I am also keeping up with my walking training for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure walk this August in the Twin Cities.  It is going well.  I don't get shin splints anymore, but my ankles sometimes get swollen and my lower back aches as well.  I have looked up some good stretches for both and ice/heat my ankles and lower back when necessary.  Over all it is going well.  This week I am working on walking 13 miles total.  Next week it bumps up to 15.  Apparently walking 14 miles in a week is no longer cool, thus the jump to 15.

This week or next week, not sure, are the last ones that I get Tuesdays and Thursday nights to myself because Jason's night classes are ending.  I adore my husband.  It has been really nice to have some quality time to myself to do whatever I want though.  It will be tough giving that up.  So this Tuesday and Thursday and maybe next week too, I intend to take advantage of that alone time.  Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my husband, but an introvert needs alone time on occasion.

And so life goes on as usual in the Pollington/Pratola household (also known as the tiny one-bedroom apartment on campus we have survived living together) and it is good. 

Montana here I come....

Jason found out last Friday that we will be heading to Montana for his first call.  At first I was disappointed because I personally was hoping for Washington or Oregon.  I also started to panic about not being able to find a job if we get stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  It all came rushing at me in a few short seconds.  I wanted to cry.

After taking the time to change into my gym clothes and a few more minutes of just staring into space, I decided to stop panicking and instead ask Jason a million questions about Montana.  What were the more populated areas?  Where were the colleges and universities located?  What was the weather like?  Only the answers to my last question sent me into panic mode again for a little while, but luckily by that time we were at the gym and I was able to walk and cycle it off for the most part.

After grilling Jason about Montana all weekend, I have become comfortable with the idea of moving there for a few years.  Of course if we get stuck out in the middle of nowhere that will quickly change.

Winter, Part II

It is still winter until March 21, but I am done.  Physically, mentally and emotionally I am done.  I can't take it anymore.  I see a snowflake and I just get pissed off and cranky.  Luther Seminary closed the campus today because of the weather, but it doesn't matter for me.  I still had to shuffle through the snow banks and wait for the bus and go to work.  It will be the same going home.  Dear God, please get me the hell out of the midwest and send us somewhere that does not have below zero weather. 

Being at work wouldn't be so bad except that it is a government holiday and therefore no mail.  I have been reading the latest issue of TIME magazine and playing FreeCell on the computer.  Sadly, I wouldn't be getting much done at home either because the library is closed.  If the commute wasn't a total pain in my ass, being at work wouldn't be so bad I guess.  I mean, hell, I'm getting paid for my time here, at least.

Vacation! Vacation! Hurray!!!

In a few days, Jason and I leave the cold dreary hell of this Minnesota winter and head out on our honeymoon, which consists of a Western Carribean cruise (thanks to my parental units.  Love you guys!!!) and the warm weather of Mexico and the Gulf.  Knowing my luck, it will be unseasonably chilly and rainy the whole time.  No seriously, I am hoping the weather is sunny and warm most of the time. 

I am just so tired of this winter.  Either it is grey and dreary with snow or the sun is out at it's f*&king cold.  Having to wait for the bus every day for anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes in the cold just makes a person pissed off on a daily basis.  I see myself being a snow bird when I am retired.  Oh wait, since I will have to work the rest of my life to pay off my student loans, that plan probably isn't going to work out very well.

So for a few days this winter I get a reprieve and I get to have it with my sweetie.  We hope to get off the ship and see a few Mayan ruin sites.  The land stops on the cruise are in Cozumel (sp?) and Yucatan Mexico.  I am so excited.  Time to check another country off my list of places to go.  I just wish my Spanish speaking was up to par.  I'll have to work on that.

I am just looking forward to the warm sun, warm breeze and the open sea.  Oh how I have missed thee, open sea and ocean.  There is nothing like looking and seeing nothing but water beyond; no land on the other side. 

Tomorrow we are running last minute errands, doing laundry, and packing as much as we can.  I am going to have to buy a new camera for the trip because my awesome camera crapped out on me when we were in Montana for Christmas.  When I get back I want to take it to a camera shop and see if it can be fixed.  I think the new camera is going to be small one that is easy to carry around.  I'm looking at a Nikon CoolPix and will pick it up at the store tomorrow.  Just one of our many errands.

So that is all for now.  Vacation is on my mind and sleep.  Sleep is on my mind too.  Sleep is good.

I'm not a Coffee Drinker...

I am not a coffee drinker, except for on very rare occassions.  I don't like the after taste it leaves in my mouth and I get a major high with a major crash when the caffeine starts to wear off.  All in all, I only drink coffee in extreme cases.  Today is one of those cases.

I slept fine for the most part last night, although I think at one point Jason was coughing violently in the middle of the night and I in my sleep said something to him.  I can't remember exactly, but it was something along the lines of "Silence, I kill you."  An ode to Achmed the dead terrorist.  But I can't be sure I actually said that until I ask Jason tonight when I see him. 

Anyway, I thought I slept well last night.  I got up after sleeping in till, well, I can't remember what time I got up and did my usual morning routine with the inclusion of watching an episode on netflix instant of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Hey, if I'm going to complete one of my dayzeroproject goals that I actually remember, watching the rest of the series of Buffy on netflix instant by the end of February, I've got to watch an episode or two a day. 

Okay, so I watched an episode of Buffy, took a shower and got ready for work.  Said goodbye to Jason as he left for class and then for whatever reason I became so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open.  I somehow made it to work without falling asleep on the bus, which was a task in itself and then did some copying and filing.  I was walking around like a zombie with zero energy.  I couldn't even get my brain to work enough to talk to my boss in more than to syllable words. 

Thus I broke down and went to the coffee room on my floor and poured myself a half a cup of non-de-caf coffee with a little bit of sugar and sweetner.  Straight black coffee is gross.  And so now I have just enough energy to type this blog and hopeful get through the rest of the day.  I might need to top myself off in a little bit because I have plans to hang out with my buddy Karen tonight after work. 

It looks like it is going to be a busy weekend too.  Oh, won't Jason be excited that he gets to have some peace and quiet this weekend to do his own thing.  Don't worry too much honey, I'll still be around some of the time to shake things up. ;-)  Love YOu!!!

So that is the story of why I broke down and drank some coffee today.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I'm sure there will be a sequel in the near future so stay tuned.

2010 in a nutshell and hopes for 2011

At the beginning of last year, I made some goals for myself that I wanted to work on throughout the year.  Some were goals that had deadlines, others were goals that I need to continuously do and work on.  Here is the list:

Goals:

1) Finish paying off bad debt, or almost all bad debt
2) Plan wedding with Jason and Get married
3) Spend more time with family in the area
4) Be better about staying in touch with family and friends
5) Be more adventurous, don't say never
6) Find solutions to my academic predicament including passing German exam before Fall semester 2010

I have completed goals 1, 2, 6 and have improved on 3, 4, and 5.  Still working on 3, 4, and 5 though.  These are goals I always have and will always have. 

This year I have decided to do something different.  I'm not going to make goals for myself.  There are too many transitions taking place this year to have any set goals.  (If you want to see a list of goals I set for myself over the next few years though, check out my DayZero Project to do list on facebook.  Wait, I deleted it for now because the DayZero website isn't working, but if/when it comes online again, I will repost it on facebook and you can look at it.)  The fact is, I have no idea where Jason and I will be living in a year from now and it is freaking me out.  I am trying to keep my cool about it, but so many people want to know where we are going to be after graduation.  My answer continues to be, "Don't have a clue.  I'll get back to you when I find out." 

As for 2010, it was truly one emotional roller coaster of a year.  At the beginning of the year, I was planning on quitting school and finding another part-time job to go along with the one I already have.  I picked up more hours at the office I work at in anticipation of this happening.  And it didn't.  Instead I got myself a new advisor, took an independent study that would become part of a chapter of my thesis, and am now on my way to graduating in May 2011. 

I got married to the most wonderful man in the world, Jason Pollington on September 4, 2010.  Many of our friends and family were able to come and we missed those who were unable to make it.  I could feel you all there with us that day and it was awesome.  I have never been more exhausted in my life though.

A few days after our wedding, Jason started his fall semester classes at the sem. and I went back to work and continued working on my thesis proposal.  The next few months were a blur.  Work and thesis took up most of my brain energy.  I could be sitting in a room surrounded by family or friends and I would be thinking about what I wanted to write next for my thesis, or something I wanted to change in my thesis, or frustrated because I couldn't find some particular information that I really wanted to include in my thesis.  See, I was consumed with my thesis. 

The year went by in a blur.  Many movie adventures, a date with So You Think You Can Dance, and several short trips around the midwest happened in 2010.  2010 was my first Thanksgiving and Christmas being married (obviously) and it was great.  We spent Thankgiving with my parents and brother and we had an early Christmas with them the weekend before we took left for Montana to spend Christmas with Jason's parents and his brother and family.  It was a short trip and I had so much fun spending time with Jason's family.  Jason's sister and her family were unable to make it and we missed them a lot.  I'm hoping that soon we will get out to New Hampshire to visit my sister, Mike and the kids.  That would be awesome. 

Towards the end of the year, I received news from my parents that my cousin Eyleen was dignosed with stage 3 breast cancer.  After I talked to mom, I had a bit of a break down which Jason got me through and then made the decision to do something I've wanted to do for a long time.  This year, 2011, I am going to walk in the Susan G. Kolmen 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk in honor of my cousin.  I love you Eyleen!  You are an inspiration!

Other parts of the year were rough as well.  Jason was in Valparaiso Indiana until the middle of August and I saw him once a month.  He was my own personal cheerleader in July when I ran the 5K at Lumberjack Days in Stillwater.  It was nice to have him there.

I think the best part of the year was our wedding.  It was so good to see everyone enjoying themselves and I got to marry my best friend and love.

Okay, so I know that I said at the beginning that I wasn't going to make any solid goals for myself this year, but seriously, this is me we're talking about.  I am far too goal oriented not to make a few goals.  So here's the list for 2011:

1) Walk the 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk, wherever I happen to be living after graduation
2)  Finish my thesis and graduate in May of this year
3)  Travel and visit family and friends around the country (as money permits)
4)  Work on DayZero list if I can ever get to it again.

I'm sure there are more, but for now, these will suffice.
I truly wonder what 2011 will bring.  For one thing, there will be another move in the future.  Oh joy, how I love moving.  There will be excitement and adventure, stress and frustration.  It will be another year, like every other year, but new things will happen, both large and small, and I am excited to see what happenings will be.