Home, Sweet, Home

Hey y'all! It's been a little crazy in our neck of the woods lately so bear with me while I try to play catch up for you!

First of all, we've finally moved everything into our new house.  We were able to have our closing on July 12 and then slowly moved everything over to our new place for the next two weeks.  All the while we both worked and Baron had to go out of town for a whole week...but we've finally moved everything and have a couch ordered and on the way!




Closing Day, and just like *that* we're homeowners!



Only Baron and I would choose the hottest weekend of the year to move!



The thing I was most excited about was having a fence for these 2 monsters, this was their first day in our new yard!


Y'all we have the bare minimum for furniture right now. Two chairs to sit on in our living room and a bed to sleep in. Also some barstools. So we have a place to eat dinner and a place to sleep, what else do you need?! We have a couch and a breakfast table on the way.  I can't wait to sit next to my husband and watch TV, ahhhh, the little things! The list of "Things to do for the House" is pages long but we're just trying to prioritize and check things off the list little by little.

My parents were supposed to come visit last weekend but unfortunately the week before held bad news for my family.  My Grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer on Monday of last week, had surgery on Tuesday and on Wednesday was given a very grim prognosis.  I flew home on Wednesday for a couple of days to be with my Grandma and help my Mom while they were staying in the hospital.  My Grandma has decided to move forward with chemotherapy and radiation which started yesterday.  Like any family,  we have certain dynamics that don't necessarily help any of this news.  Please keep my Grandma in your prayers as well as my family in Florida who are trying to help her as much as possible. It's very hard to be so far away while my family is going through a tough time.

Our schedules have been so busy lately, we are enjoying being able to walk around the neighborhood in the evening and just breathe.  I'm trying to remind myself that everything doesn't have to be done right away and if it takes 5 years to get our house put together, that it's okay, and to remind myself of what's most important in my life and not stress about the other stuff.  Trying is the key word. 

Hope you all have a great week!

Well Hi There!

Y'all.  I'm no good at this bloggin' stuff! It's been a month since I've updated and I feel like SO much has gone on.  I think my stressometer if just way past the max and the last thing I want to do in my free time is sit down and write about all the craziness.  But there are times when I think that it'll be nice to go back and read what's gone on in our lives, and what we've learned and such.  So I write...

Baron and I celebrated our first anniversary on the weekend right before the real day.  We dropped the dogs off at doggy camp and headed to Nashville for the weekend.  It was such a fun time!  We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel which was so much fun!  There's so much to see and do in the hotel that we barely left to venture out and see the rest of Nashville.



From our balcony



I had Publix make a replica of our top tier, which I'm sure tasted
a lot better than a version frozen would have!



Baron made a version of my favorite flower to stick with
the traditional first year=paper anniversary gift!



Baron loved his Pinterest inspired framed maps



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We really did have a wonderful (although far too short) weekend! We've decided we need to go back and explore the rest of Nashville on another trip! I just love Music City!

A few days after we got back from Nashville I was doing some homework for my new job and Max came walking towards me and I gasped! His mouth was so swollen! A quick trip to the vet's office, some steroids, and benadryl and he was all better!

Poor guy :(

I guess I need to post some pictures of our house.  It seems like it's moving very sllllooooooowwwly now but I've heard that's normal.  Supposedly the house will be done by the end of this week and then we'll start all the walk throughs and inspections and such.  I am SO ready to be done. This has been such a bigger headache than I've ever imagined.  I just don't understand how so many things can be messed up...granted, most of the things are being fixed after a some discussion, but there are some things that won't be totally perfect because they've had to be redone the correct way.

Yesterday when we drove by the house we were excited to see that our mailbox had been installed!  I got out to snap a picture when Baron dropped the bomb on me, "Um, that's totally NOT our address!"  Haha!  Par for the course, I suppose.  Adding it to the list of things that'll need to be resolved before we close.

Talk about a photo dump!! I'm off to study for some classes that I'm taking for work.  Let me tell ya, it's hard to get back into the swing of studying when you haven't done it in years! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

House Update

Greetings y'all! Hope this week finds you well, we're almost done! Hooray for Friday!

I haven't posted much about the house lately.  Everyone told me that once the drywall went up it would seem like they were moving at a snails pace.  I found that to be so true!  Sometimes we're going out to visit only once or twice a week.  Doesn't help that we've been really busy with work too. 

I went out to visit today and had to break in through a window! Apparently we've been locked out of our own house...bummer!  I was thrilled to see that we had cabinets installed!  The kitchen is what really sold me on the house and I love watching it take shape!

They've also started painting and have put up all the trim work.  I'm so excited to see the colors in real life!


The Office



Dining Room



Master


Day by day we're getting closer and closer.  I still haven't really thought much about packing and moving because it still doesn't feel real.  I suppose I should get myself in gear!! 

Hope you all have a great week!

Good in Goodbye

{via}

She's done it again!! Carrie Underwood's fourth album has hit the shelves and y'all, I've been waiting for a looooong time for today to come around, like since her last album was released back in 2009!  I just love Carrie!  She's beautiful with an even more beautiful voice and just seems like we could be friends!

 My favorite song so far is "Good in Goodbye".  It's a song about someone running into their ex and realizing now that even though it hurt at the time, that it was for a good reason that they went their separate ways.  I guess I'm having an I really miss home day, because when I heard the song it really spoke to me as a sign that even though it was painful to leave home that it was for a good reason and will be worth it in the end.  And like the lyrics say, I thought I deserved to not have to go anywhere to have everything I ever wanted.  I thought I deserved to have my husband and my family and my job and my home all in the same place.

As bad as it was,

as bad as it hurt,

I thank God I didn't get

what I thought that I deserved.

Sometimes life

leads you down a different road,

when you're holdin' on to something

 that you gotta let go.

Someday you'll see the reason why.

Sometimes,

yeah sometimes,

There's good in goodbye.

The difference for me was that I didn't have to wait until someday to see the reason why.  I got the clarity and happy ending that I needed the minute I had to say goodbye to my friends, family, job, and home.  He was standing at the end of the altar waiting for me almost a year ago.  And I know that this move will be good for us.  I know it will make us stronger and more united in our marriage.  I just have to wait and see about the details.

Finding Furniture

Baron and I spent a lot of time looking at furniture this weekend.  I'm so overwhelmed at the thought of furnishing a whole house that sometimes I want to give up and live with the same furniture for the rest of my life! But persevere I will!

We found a few pieces for the living room that we really like and thanks to my smartypants husband we were able to draw it up as it would fit in our new house.  I think we're making progress in the living room.  I look at Pinterest all the time and am constantly seeing things that I love....just not so sure how to piece them together in my own place.

Photos {via}

I know it will all come together in time, I just feel like I have no clue where to start the search.  Do I find a rug that I love?  Or base all my decisions off of a TV console that we fell in love with this weekend?  Hmmm, what to do, what to do??

Hammary Furniture

Do any of y'all know of any websites or sources of great decorating ideas?  I'd love to have some more inspiration to pull from!

Other than the furniture shopping, we had a pretty low key weekend.  Baron had to work a little on both days but we did manage to go to PF Changs on Saturday to celebrate Baron's birthday!  Halfway through the meal we both decided we'd rather go to Panda Express.  Haha!  I guess Chinese food is Chinese food, period!  We never claimed to be high class folks!

Later y'all!                          

A Quick Florida Vacay...

...and by "vacay" I mean run-around-like-chickens-with-our-heads-cut-off for 36 hours before getting in a car and driving for 12 hours to get back home.  But I wouldn't have missed it!

One of Baron's good friends from high school (who actually lives in the same city we do now!) got married on Saturday in Melbourne Beach, Florida.  Baron drove down to Florida on Thursday for some of the earlier wedding festivities.  I had to work on Friday but caught an early flight to Melbourne on Saturday.  Baron picked me up at the airport and we changed clothes, then headed straight to the wedding. Perfect timing!

The wedding was so fun!  We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and slept with the windows open, listening to the waves. It was wonderful!  I guess growing up ten minutes from the beach, I kind of took it for granted.   It felt so good to be driving up A1A, seeing all the touristy beach shops, and looking at the ocean!

On Sunday, we woke up early and grabbed breakfast with some of Baron's friend's from school that now live in Melbourne. After breakfast, we headed straight to New Smyrna (about an hour and half drive) and had lunch with my Dad. My Mom was in New York so I didn't get to see her :(

After a quick lunch, we made the two hour drive to Baron's parents'  house where we had dinner and spent the night before making the 10 hour drive back to Alabama the next morning.  We finally got home at about 7:30 on Monday night and I had to be up for work at 4:30 the next morning. Ugh.  Needless to say, the last two days of working in the operating room drug on forever it seemed!  I feel so much better after sleeping in a little this morning and finally getting some groceries in our house!

Our house is coming along nicely. While we were gone they put up sheet rock in the whole house, and finished all the brick work.  Here's a photo of our bedroom:

Today we have an appointment to pick out all of our shelving, mirrors, and towel racks.  Oh my!

Now I need a favor from all of you who read this.  Would you please take a moment to pray for this little boy?  This is Joshua, he's the son of one of my friends and was in a very serious 4-wheeler accident on Sunday morning.  He's in the Pediatric ICU and in very serious condition.  He has a very long road to recovery and right now is still sedated and on a ventilator to let his brain heal.  After his brain shows some improvement their plan is to slowly wake up and get him breathing on his own, before starting to work on all of his broken bones and other injuries.

Josh and his Mom

Please pray specifically for progress in the healing of his brain, for comfort and rest for his parents, older brother, and family.  Also for wisdom and strength for the doctors and nurses who are caring for him.  I know his family appreciates the prayers!

I hope you all have a blessed week! Hope to check in sooner rather than later, but y'all know, I don't make any promises ;)

Checking In

Good Thursday morning to ya!  I hope this finds you well, I've been busy, busy with work and just trying to get into the swing of things with L&D again.  Our house keeps us busy as well. Everything has been fixed and the new (black) roof is in place. I really love it! 

They started putting the bricks on a few days ago and it's really starting to look like a house.  I know I keep saying that, but every little step gets us closer and closer and I'm so excited.

Love our new shingles!

Baron and I are going to a wedding this weekend and I found the perfect dress for a beach wedding!

I'm a little excited because we haven't had to get all dressed up in a while and I can't wait to see my hubs in a tux again...will bring me right back to that wonderful day almost a year ago!

I can't believe that just next month we'll be celebrating our first anniversary! Time flies!  I am happier than I've ever been and so glad to be married to my best friend, but I won't lie and say that this year has been perfect.  We've been through a whole crazy lot this past year.  We both left jobs that we loved, Baron finished his PhD and graduated, we got married, moved two states away from "home", Baron started a new job, I job searched for what felt like forever, and just recently I've started a new job.  Oh yeah, and we started building a house in the middle of all of that!

I never ever saw myself marrying a rocket scientist and moving to the middle of Alabama...but I never thought I'd get to marry someone so perfect for me either!  I'm so thankful that in the midst of all the craziness of the last year I always know that when I come home that I'm loved, I'm safe, and I'm cared for. That's more than enough to make my heart so very happy.

Happy almost a year, babe! I love you! 

Weekend Wrap Up

Hey y'all!  Well it seems like the once a week updates will have to do for now, at least until I get into some kind of routine with my new job.  I made it through my second week of working 8-5 and I'm so glad to be done with that! I may not think the same thing when I wake up at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning for my first 12 hour shift though!

I work Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of this week.  Here's hoping for a good one!

Baron and I had a low key weekend.  After working Monday-Friday for the past two weeks I feel kind of torn on what to do on the weekends.  Part of me wants to lay in bed all day and not think about a thing, and another part of me wants to get up early and run and play all day long!  We had a good mix of both this weekend. 

Lunch with friends, brunch at a cute cafe, exploring our new house, going to the dog park, and watching lots of House Hunters= a great weekend!

We took the dogs to the park yesterday because they were needing to let some energy out after being couped up all week.  Max had a great time and Macey....well we're never really sure if she's having fun or not :)

House Update:

This past week has been so exciting as we watch our house literally going up before our eyes!  Amidst the excitement, there has been a lot of stress as well.  We've found several things that have not been built correctly including, a TV box above our fireplace, a missing door in the Jack and Jill bathroom, the landing of our stairs isn't built per the plans, and there was supposed to be a big bench seat in front of one of the windows in the bonus room which isn't there. Ugh.

The most disappointing thing, however, was discovering that our entire roof had been shingled...in the wrong color! Ugh.  They gave us two choices, grey or black.  We chose black, clearly chose it.  I have pictures of some of the roof/brick color combos that we chose in this post.

So here's a picture of our grey roof.  While waiting to hear a response from the builder about the wrong colored shingles, we noticed another problem!  Look closely at the picture above.  Do you notice that the left side appears to be a tad darker than the right side?  It makes me want to scream!!  If they didn't think that they'd be replacing it, then there's another thing coming because that looks absolutely ridiculous and it's not even the right color in the first place!!

I know that this will all work out and eventually we'll be in our home with all of these little mistakes being a distant memory.  Right now, though, it seems like it's a never ending array of problems and that nothing can be done correctly. 

I hope you all have a blessed week!!  Think of me this week, would ya??  I'm nervous about heading back to work.

I Promise I'm Alive!

Hi y'all!! What a blur of a week it's been! I'm sorry that I never checked in and let you all know how my first week was going, I had good intentions but, alas, never got around to it. 

First off, thank you all so much for your well wishes for my new job.  I guess no one really likes change, but I appreciate all of your thoughts!  I have to do two whole weeks of 8-5 orientation days (that are a little boring if I must tell).  I'm halfway there!!  My first day on the floor will be a week from Tuesday. I'm nervous and excited all in one.

I have to give credit to all of you folks who work 8-5 jobs.  I don't know how you do it!  I was exhausted and ready for bed by nine o'clock every night and the thought of cooking dinner was enough to send me over the edge.  Baron and I are a good team, so we didn't have to eat out every night :)  The dogs had quite the adjustment period and were surprisingly well behaved.  Thank the Lord!

We did manage to find time to drive by the house every night this week and were amazed at how quickly things are happening!  The next two photos are from last Sunday, and exactly a week later, this afternoon:

I can't wait to see what it looks like in another week!  This stage of the process is happening so fast!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Back to the grind tomorrow :)

On the Eve of Change

I never really understood the Sunday evening blues...until today.  Ha!  My first real job was working night shift as a nurse and each week I worked on different days so there was never the feeling of having to get ready for a full week of work.

I start hospital orientation tomorrow for my new job and although there won't be any clinical work tomorrow I'm still a little nervous.  Never having been a huge fan of change, I've kind of been dreading this afternoon for a while. 

I've got my lunch packed, paperwork ready, and my clothes laid out for my first day.  Here goes nothing!

Baron and I had a low key weekend that started out by celebrating my new job at the Melting Pot on Friday night.  Imagine my surprise when I saw this on my little menu board:

We had a nice dinner and fun experience cooking all of our own food.  Baron had never been before and I think he liked it :)  While trying to cook some shrimp on a skewer, this guy walks by and I think,  "I know him!" But then I thought, "we just moved here and there are very few people that we know and I'd be able to identify them easily." Hmmmm....

Then it clicked, it was Jared the Subway guy! At the Melting Pot. Certainly not eating a five dollar foot long.  Baron didn't believe me at first and after it was confirmed by our waiter, he too, was in awe of the big celebrity sighting in our city.

Speaking of Subway, there is one pretty close to our new house.  We went and grabbed dinner one night last week.  Our sandwich artist was very enthusiastic and even penned the words "His" and "Hers" on our sandwiches.  Ha!

Saturday was spent doing absolutely nothing.  We did drive around late in the afternoon to check on our house and just see the city.  Spring has definitely sprung here in North Alabama and it is beautiful!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I'll try to stop in at some point but won't make any promises, this is going to be quite the 180 for a girl who's had a year off of work.  Gulp!  I'm excited to get started but kind of wish I could snap my fingers and have been at my new job for a year.  I remember saying that about my last job when I first started and the three and a half years there went by so fast. 

I hope I can touch peoples' lives.  I hope I can be a caretaker, pain-reliever, answer giver, comedian, baby rocker, comforter, and perfect counter-to-ten (you do a lot of that in Labor and Delivery) for all of the women that I will care for.  The way that all of the doors were closed until this opportunity came about, and then this door was wide open and I was practically shoved through it, helps me to be less anxious about the whole thing.  This is where I'm supposed to be.  This is what I'm supposed to do.  I can't wait to get back into the groove of it all.  I'll just keep repeating that to myself until it feels natural again.

Have a great week, friends!