From our Ewok to your family – we hope you had a great Halloween!!! xoxo
find the love!
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Lessons Learned on the Road
In Wamego, Kansas we got very excited because there was a Sonic! We’d never been to one, but always seen the commercials. Casey wasn’t feeling well, so we stopped to get Sonic for lunch to bring back to the hotel. We didn’t want to eat there, so we decided to park and go in.
Except (as all of your likely know, but we didn’t) you don’t go in to Sonic. You really do have to order at the drive in part or in the middle. We literally walked in to the kitchen of Sonic, and stopped in our tracks asking meekly “Is this where we order?” We then got the Sonic 101 from the waiter and backpedaled to the middle unit to order. The next time we went, we were pros and pulled right in. Lesson learned.
Throughout a lot of the west, the speed limit signs look like this. With a lower speed limit indicated for night.
Around 5pm, we were cruising through Colorado, I was driving. I passed by a police officer doing 65 and they immediately turned around and put on their lights.
My legs started shaking and I was freaking out. We couldn’t find my wallet that had my license, we had no idea where the registration was for the rental van, and we were pulling out various insurance cards as the police officer came up to the van.
We proceeded to get a lesson on Colorado’s version of nighttime. Apparently, whether or not it is dark at 5pm, 5pm is nighttime in Colorado. Period. End of sentence. So, on this particular day – it was 5:07pm and I was doing 65 in a 55. Nevermind that it was still daylight and their “nighttime” speed limit sign does not have a time on it. I guess you’re just supposed to know.
So we got pulled over. And frantically tried to find all of our information. And thankfully only got a verbal warning from the cop, who I kid you not was laughing in her cruiser while she checked my license and the car information. I can just imagine her telling the story of us to her co-workers. It didn’t help that we couldn’t remember where we had left from that morning when she asked where we were coming from. Or that I handed her a license with my name on it, an insurance car with Mom’s name on it, and a rental agreement for the van that we found out later was the previous renter’s agreement – someone named Murray.
5pm is nighttime in Colorado. Lesson learned.
The Next Phase
It’s been awhile! Sorry that I’ve been absent for four months now. I really think that the more free time I have, the less productively I use that time, and four straight months is more than I’ve had….pretty much ever. Luckily, my beautiful wife, Jenn is a more responsible blogger, and let’s face it, has a lot more talent for writing blog posts than I do.
That being said, today you get me, so I’ll fill you in on my new job. As Jenn has already said, I got hired a couple of days ago at a fire protection company, designing sprinkler systems. I had to go in for an interview, a test design, and then finally one more time to get the offer, so the whole process took a couple of weeks. I’m glad it paid off!
Before, I was designing plumbing systems and sprinkler systems, so the focus on just fire sprinklers is a bit of a career shift. It’s a welcome one, though, because it’s what I’ve wanted to focus on for awhile now. Because of the shift, I’ll be starting out as a “Trainee” for the first year, but everyone (including me) is confident that I can learn the skills required to becoming a full designer by next fall. This also lets me breathe a little easier, and work my way into my position at a more comfortable pace.
I get great pay and benefits and the commute is A LOT nicer than what I had in Maine. And it won’t change much when we move into our new house. We also work 9 hour days Monday through Thursday, so I’ll get Friday afternoons off, year round!
There are a lot of great things about the job, but the best one? Looking at Jenn sitting on our living room couch looking back at me and saying “I’m proud of you”.
Quick Hello
Hey.. Y’ALL!
Wow. So, I’m really sorry there hasn’t been anything going on around here. It’s not because we don’t love you (we do!) It’s not because I don’t have words (they are OVERflowing!) but it’s mostly because we are settling into “real” life here.
The great news of today is that Casey got the job he interviewed for!!! We both interviewed on the same day, but his company took a little longer because they had to assess his design skills. I’ll let him tell you more about it (he’s PROMISED to write on Saturday).
My job is going great! The only pitfall is I’m now a supervisor, so my kid stories are going to be lacking. I get to fill in if some of my employees are out sick, but generally I’ll be behind the scenes. This will be a transition for me. I’m trying to train Skeeter to say funny things, but it’s not working out. Instead I just mock him.
So, the next post you can expect from me, will be tales from the road. Things we learned the hard way and why I got pulled over!
Talk soon! xo
Posted in blogging family, randomness
4 Comments
For Him
Life. It sucks. It happens. It isn’t fair. It’s wonderful. It’s beautiful. It is fleeting.
2 years ago today, when Casey had a stroke – I felt all of these things in the course of 2 days.
Today, two years later almost to the minute, I am simply filled with gratitude.
For him.
The Numbers…
38 days.
11, 430 miles.
34 states visited.
4 internet buds turned into real life buds.
1 birthday.
1 anniversary.
8 national parks.
And only 1 stop by a police officer, but that’s another story for another day.
Posted in road trip
9 Comments
A Wave of Light
For more information visit http://www.october15th.com
What We’ve Been Up to!
Greetings from the road!!! Thanks for continuing to follow along. I apologize for being a bad blog buddy, I have been reading – but mostly from my phone so I can’t comment. But hope everyone’s doing well!
We’ve got 10 days left and so much more to see!! Stay tuned in!!!
30 Things I’ve Learned in 30 Years
1. Kindness is what you do, and how you act when no one is watching you.
2. Goals, goals, goals. Have them, and go towards them.
3. Life is hard. Period. End of sentence.
4. I have no idea if everything happens for a reason. But it all happens, and you have to find a way to work with all of it.
5. It’s okay to get stuck sometimes. To falter, waver, and regret sometimes. As long as you have people beside you to pull you out and cheer you on.
6. Everyone, and I really mean everyone can teach you a lesson. Especially the people you don’t like.
7. Big hugs make pretty much everything brighter.
8. There is so much in the world to see, find a way to see it.
9. Be lazy sometimes. Like, eat cookie dough and watch Lifetime movies all day kind of lazy. It’s good for the soul.
10. Be accountable. Do what you say you will do. Mean what you say.
11. There is absolutely no replacement for a best friend.
12. Take chances. Jump. Leap.
13. Daydream. Sometimes your daydream will turn right into your life.
14. Listen to your gut. It’s always right. Really.
15. Complain less. It’s even worse than worrying in terms of productivity. And it brings everyone down around you.
16. Go on “The Price is Right”
17. Smile at strangers on the street. Even in NYC and LA where they’re likely to scowl back.
18. Step outside your comfort zone. Often.
19. Find a way to help kids. Or have kids. They keep you laughing. They keep you connected to a world that you leave behind when you enter adulthood.
20. There is no magic moment when you become an adult. It’s just a process.
21. Laugh. All the time. And hang out with people who make you laugh.
22. Sing. In the shower. In the car. While you’re walking down the street. Sing your soundtrack.
23. Exercise. For real. It helps.
24. Take pictures! Document moments. Your memory will fail you, but the proof that you were there won’t.
25. Help others. Not because you should, but because we’re all in this together. And they are you. They are not below or beneath you.
26. Tell the truth. It’s easier. Except if it’s something you can easily blame on your older brother.
27. Treasure moments with your loved ones. You never truly know if there will be another moment.
28. No one is perfect, and what fun would it be if you were? Stop trying!
29. Celebrate moments. Birthdays. Holidays. Accomplishments.
30. Share yourself with others.
On the Eve of 30
A decade of my life is coming to an end.
A decade in which I learned to live on my own, graduated with my bachelor’s and my masters, met my husband, started a career that I love, moved from the North to the South, and grew into a real live adult.
I’ve learned that being an adult is so much different than what I thought it would be when I was a teenager.
It has its share of downsides, sure. Responsibilities, bills, reality.
But it holds freedom, choices, possibilities, and opportunities.
I can’t wait to see what the decade of my 30’s hold, because I know it will be amazing.
I will choose for it to be amazing.
Because life is all about choices, and in the end that quote is true. The one that says something like – It’s not about what happens to you in life, it’s about how to react to what happens to you – because that you can control.
And now, I’ve got me a pair of ruby slippers, so I can never be too far from home!
Bring on 30!
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Linking up with Molly for What’s the Word Wednesday! 🙂
