Catch UP

So I guess I should write a little bit about what has been going on in my life. It has been a very long time. Well last time I wrote anything I was living in Austin Texas. Since then I moved back home to Kent. I love every minute I was in Austin. It was a great place and I made some great friends. I never found a job and never had anything huge happen to me in my life, so Im still trying to figure out what I was down there for. But everything happens for a reason I always say. While I was in Texas I reconnected with an old friend via FB. He was my families home teacher when I was in high school. He was married and new to the ward. I had a little school girl crush on him. He was like the un-attainable man. Married, unavailable. Well it just so happens he got a divorce 2 years ago. He arranged to pick me up from the airport the night I flew home. And he's been around ever since.
We moved down to Eugene at the end of October of last year. It was def a change. Not so much with the weather, but the people. It is a lot slower and smaller here then the Seattle area. It takes literally 5-10 mins to get anywhere in this town. The speed limits on the freeways are only 55mph and everyone insists on going 10 below that. You can def get a little road rage if you arent used to it. Sketch is loving his new job with Pipeworks. We have made some incredible friends here. Its awesome to have a great group of friends who are all in the same point in their life. We only have a few single friends. Everyone else is married. Its great.
It took me forever to find a job here. I went on SO many interviews and applied at more places than I can remember. Thankfully in Sept I got hired with Engelmann-Becker in downtown Eugene. I am the receptionist and have a good group of people that I work with. I got the job through the wife of Sketch's co-worker. I am very glad to be working again. It has been a long long time. It has taken a while getting used to working and being busy all day. But lately I havent been quite as tired at work. Ill only be working for about 2 more years. Once Sketch and I have children I will take on my 'real' job as a stay at home mommie. Yes...I will be a professional SAHM. I am so excited. We are probably gonna wait 6-12 months after we get married to start having kids.
Wedding plans are going well. Sketch proposed in Feb and I was immediately in planning mode. Got a nice wedding planning book and everything. I didnt think it was going to take me as long as it did to find a job. So initially we were planning for a 10k wedding in WA. Was going to be nice and big and fancy with all our friends around. Then...it went to a small intimate ceremony with just family and a big reception at the church building. Then...a big ceremony and reception at an outdoor location in Kent. And NOW...it is a ceremony with just family and close friends at The Beacon House here in Eugene, OR. We arent planning a reception. We decided we didnt want to spend a ton of money on 1-day of celebrating. We even talked eloping at one point. But we really want our family here and want some nice pictures. So we are doing a very nice ceremony with me in a fancy dress and Sketch all dressed up. We arent having a wedding party since we are making them come down here for the ceremony. It will just be my dad walking me down the aisle. It will be all about me and Sketch.
I think that is about it. Of course other things have happened, but this is probably the gist of it all.

Getting ready to move...YET AGAIN

Well the time has almost come again...moving time. 2 weeks and still havent packed anything. I dread packing, so Im pushing it off til the very last second possible. Aside from packing, Ill be pretty busy until I leave. Will be working 3-10p all this week. Im pretty excited. I mean its nothing big and not making that much doing it...but it will put an extra 200bucks in my very empty pocket. Then there is a dance, water activity, boating...and hanging out with all my friends that I will soon be leaving. OH..and the most important part...getting all the sun I can. Need to darken up this tan a bit before I leave since wont be seeing much of the sun when I get home. I am very excited to be getting home though. No one thought I would last as long as I did. I miss all my family and friends so Im rather excited to be moving home. I get back on Aug 4th...and gonna play with all my nephews that first week. Then onto the job hunt. Will need a job asap once I get back. Im gonna look for something closer to home. I hate commuting to work...plus think of all the money you can save if you work close to where you live. :) Gonna be meeting with an employment agency in Renton when I get back. So hopefully something pans out with them. I need some sort of income. I hate not having money. Not being able to go out. Having such a tight budget. It SUCKS. But it has been good for me. Its taught me a lot about living within your means and getting only the necessity. So that has been good. More to come on the adventure that is my life.

Mission?

So I have been thinking a lot about life and where I am to go...and today at church I really had the feeling that I needed to serve a mission. I have been thinking a lot about that in recent years, but it was not an option financially. But in recent months everything has fallen into place where I could serve a mission. Im thinking Ill move home in Aug and find a job and work my tail off to save enough money to go. I still have a lot of praying to do, but really feel at this point in my life...what else is there to do.

Serious Thoughts

So I'm having serious thoughts about going on a mission. Just everything in my life seems to be pointing that way. I'm torn...I want to go, but I feel I'm too old to go. By time I got back I would be like 29 almost. But I still have this strong pull towards going. I guess a lot of prayer is going to be done the next little while.

Homeward Bound

So its official. Im moving back to Kent. Probably around the first of Aug. Im happy and sad all at the same time. I have made such wonderful friends here that it will be hard to leave them. The ward here is amazing and the people are all such righteous influences on my life. So that will be hard to leave. But it will be good to be around my family. It really is hard to leave home. I guess if I had a family of my own it would be a little easier to be away, but I dont, so it is hard. I love my family so much. All my nephews. Its hard. So in that sense im happy ill be goin back home. Ill see what life has in store for me back home.

Reflection

I guess now that Im at a point in my life where I literally have nothing, Ive been doing a lot of reflection on my life. Things I regret. Things Ive done. Experienced. I have to say Ive lived a good life so far. There is not much I wish I had of done or wished I didnt do. I guess every experience is there for the learning and growing. One thing I have learned the last few months is how important family is. There is nothing in the world more important than your family. They are the only ones who will stand by you through everything and will be there to pick you up when you fall. I would seriously be on the streets if I didnt have such a loving and caring family. I owe them my life.

If I cannot find a job by Aug 10, Ill be moving back home to Seattle...and I think Im ok with that. Whether I stay here in Austin or go back to Seattle...I will be ok. There are many good things about Austin and good things about Seattle. Im very in the middle right now with my true feelings on it. And its stupid to be going back and forth on such a mundane thing, but Im very full of mixed emotions with everything going on in my life. Honestly I never thought I would be where I am. We all grow up with this plan...this perfect plan of how our life is supposed to turn out and when it doesnt...we kinda get lost a little. We have to re-evaluate our goals and expectations of ourselves. Its scarey, being somewhere you never planned. I am handling it the best I can. Still pushing forward. Maybe taking a few steps backwards here and there, but still moving forward.