.... is this thing on?

I logged on and found a draft of a post still just sitting there.....from 3 years ago! Sheesh! It's like a virtual ghost town.
Old broken links... ::Que the western music::
Photos no longer available....  ::rolling tumble weeds::

So. Let's just jump in like no time has past, except that everything is different. You know, like:
-my hair is down to my waist now
-I live in Omaha, Nebraska

Ok wow. I started a list because I thought it would be long, but ok that's really it! I still have a husband I adore. I spend my free time making things. Lots of things. Any things. And the other stuff is just a little different. My job is different now, and I have one kitty and one puppy now (Long story. No really. I love telling long stories where you wonder half-way through where it's going and sometimes I forget too, but this one is boring. Even to me) And oh yea!  I'm still not great at taking photos so you can pretty much just expect phone photos. Although I just discovered this thing called instagram and they have filters, so yeah, color you impressed #i'mawesomenow #allthecoolkidsthinki'mcool.

I think at least once a month for the last 3 years I have told Josh that I'm going to start blogging again. Mostly, I really miss having this record of my life. I'm not a journaler, or a journalee, or a journal-keeping-type-person, so I love having this place that I can write down my thooughts and feeeelings and stuuuuff. You know, not like a journal at all. I'd love to stick to posting once a week, so stay tuned! And ignore the last post (from three years ago) that said I was going to keep updating....

I almost forgot! A photo to prove I am still alive (Unfortunately this is not where we live. Its from vacation in Temecula last weekend. )

vegas, baby!

 a few weeks ago we were contacted about a teaching couple position with a reputable organization that works with at-risk youth. i haven't even mentioned it for fear that it just wasn't going to work out and it almost didn't! we initially thought {as did they} that we would go to their site in chicago, but that wasn't a good fit. we visited and got to see the program, but we simultaneously knew the chicago site wasn't for us but the position was. luckly, they had an opening in las vegas and i am pleased as punch to tell you that we were offered and accepted the position on friday!!

so yeah, we're moving to vegas! and although it's not a place we ever imagined living and it's so very far from family and friends, we are really looking forward to it! we've spent the last week and a half researching it and i think we're going to love it there! {goodbye debilitating allergies}

i'm so excited i could scream and so terrified i could run and hide {almost!} we just know that this is, without a doubt, what we want to be doing and an organization we can't wait to be a part of. we will be living in their facility, in a big house with our own quarters, and playing the role of surrogate parents to 4-6 kids who live there anywhere from 6-9 months. it's going to be stressful, it's going to be rewarding, and we just can't wait to get started!

we've gotten off one roller-coaster to jump directly onto another: we fly out there the last week of may to do some paperwork and check everything out, come home for a couple days and then head to their headquarters for a two-week training. then we come home and move to vegas in june. it's going to be crazy! and really, we wouldn't have it any other way. i don't think we could wait another minute to start this new adventure!

i could go on and on, but i'll stop for now. i've got so many other things to share and i'll be doing my very best to document this big change. thank you all for your lovely thoughts and comments, they really helped me stay positive on some tough days!

news {or lack there of}

i'm so excited to show you more of my bedroom changes, but lately life has taken over my....well, life. and yes, i'm aware that doesn't make sense. but you get the over-all gist, and i don't care if my husband graduates with a masters in english comp {on thursday!} my writing can be non-nonsensical if i so choose. and i do!

anyway, trying to keep you posted on changes in my life over the past 2 weeks would look something like this:

we might have a job!

90% sure we have a job!

gave up 2 jobs for a sure thing!

i think we're moving to chicago!

ok, definitely not moving to chicago, but maybe some where else?

nevermind, we might be moving to chicago no matter what!

or perhaps we will both be unemployed in a few short weeks.

so basically absolutely everything is up in the air and any update i give you will likely be void within a few days {or hours!} some days we're rolling with the punches and some days i think my head will explode and that we've made all the wrong choices. 

only time will tell.

until then, i will continue to do what keeps me busy and my mind moving- namely, avoiding long stretches of time at the computer {which provides way too much time for mind-wandering and worst-case-scenario dwelling} and deep cleaning my apartment {that we may or may not be moving out of any time soon.....}

ah, life! someday we will look back at this time and think it was all worth it {at least i hope so!}

highest highs & lowest lows

this week has been....something else. to say it's been a roller coaster ride just doesn't quite cover it. it's like the week that never ends.

it started with my mom's {major} surgery on tuesday morning, which went well. yay! 

high!

but then she had complications, and was back in the hospital for 20 hours. my dad sounded a step away from distraught, and with no family nearby him to be supportive and a mom in a "precarious" situation, my siblings and i were all freaking out. a lot.  

low.

but then she went home and things have been all clear ever since. 

high!

wednesday husband had his final all-day interview with teach for america. 

high!

but the interview was in lawrence {a couple hours away} and the night before our car broke down. disaster.  

low.

but then a dear friend came through with a car to borrow. she's amazing.  

high!

{and oh yeah, he nailed the interview}

double high!

so now it's the end of a long long week and everything has ended on a good note, but i'm still reeling from, well, everything. 

i'm looking forward to a calm weekend. 

a weekend of recovery. {especially for my mom}

i love it...i love it not...

i have a love/hate relationship with manhattan kansas.

which i don't really think is unusual when you move to a completely new and unfamiliar place. it's actually pretty arbitrary how i feel about it on any given day. like a little girl plucking petals from a flower to discover if her crush loves her or not, my feelings about the city have less to do with the city itself and more to do with me.

but lately it's been all love love love.

mostly for reasons i can't explain or pinpoint. it's the beginning of my dibilitating allergy season {and i won't even tell you how much it costs to refill my inhalers} so really i should be dreading the coming months, but i'm finding myself looking forward to the fall. it's getting cooler {finally!} and the sky is so beautiful. all the time. i find myself cloud-watching any chance i get. school starts next week and i'm excited to get back to my routine- blogging, working, practicing, and maybe a little yoga.

i think it's going to be a good year.

la boheme

we moved all the way out here {manhattan kansas} so that my husband could follow his dream- which led him to school. 

and will lead him to another school after this. 

but i'm not wasting my time here, either- i found a job i love, opened my etsy and am pursuing my suzuki certifications {teaching the violin is my passion}

we didn't exchange christmas gifts this year {we were just happy to be surrounded by friends and family} and we won't do birthday gifts, either.
life is more simple this way. we're taking less for granted and making the most of our time here. in a strange way,  we're living this crazy-poor-artistic lifestyle- doing what we must to get by, but pursuing our dreams non-stop and full-force.

it's kind of romantic.

and i kind of love it. a lot.

in fact, if we were only {only!} living in paris, i think we would be the quintessential starving artists. a scholar and an etsian.

 it's got a nice ring to it, no?

photos here, here, here

airing my dirty laundry

this is it. all our dirty laundry. 

we have a lot of clothes. we don't buy them a lot, but we keep them forever so we've accumulated quite a pile. plus we have tons of underwear and socks, so we only have to do it once a month or so.

and while we're at it, i might as just tell you that all these clothes have been sitting there since yesterday. that's right, we're literally living in our dirty clothes until tomorrow night, cause i'm not doing them tonight either!

 growing up i never understood why laundry was such a big deal, but right now i would give anything to go back to 5th grade and leave all these laundry woes behind.

{thanks mom for protecting me from this horror for so long!} 

music & lyrics

i'm a music person.

music as in melody.
in fact, i love nothing more than a melody with a great harmony. so really, i think you could say that i'm a harmony person.

my husband, on the other hand, is a lyrics person. {which is good because he has trouble keeping a tune} and he can't truly love a song {or a band, even} if he doesn't love the lyrics.

i, on the other hand, usually make up my own anyway, so lyrics rarely catch my eye. but i love this song. and i love the lyrics even more. so i thought i'd share both, since it seems to be such a rare combo for me.
{and i don't know too many 20somethings who can't relate to it right now, including myself}

After years of expensive education

a car full of books and anticipation,
I'm an expert on Shakespeare and that's a hell of a lot

but the world don't need scholars as much as I thought.

Maybe I'll go travelling for a year,
finding myself or start a career.
I could work for the poor though I'm hungry for fame
we all seem so different but we're just the same.

Maybe I'll go to the gym, so I don't get fat,
aren't things more easy with a tight six pack?
Who knows the answers? Who do you trust?
I can't even separate love from lust.

Maybe I'll move back home and pay off my loans,
working nine to five answering phones.
Don't make me live for my friday nights,
drinking eight pints and getting in fights.

I don't want to get up, just let me lie in,
leave me alone, I'm a twenty something.

Maybe I'll just fall in love that could solve it all,
philosophers say that that's enough,
there surely must be more.

Love ain't the answer nor is work,

the truth eludes me so much it hurts.

But I'm still having fun and I guess that's the key,

I'm a twenty something and I'll keep being me.

new year's resolution

i started reading cold tangerines last night, {which was recommended and borrowed from a dear friend} and i really love this quote:

"today is your big moment. moments, really. the life you've been waiting for is happening all around you. the scene unfolding right outside your window is worth more than the most beautiful painting, and the crackers and peanut butter that you're having for lunch on the the coffee table as profound, in their own way, as the last supper. this is it. this is life in all its glory, swirling and unfolding around us, disguised as pedantic, pedestrian non-events. but pull off the mask and you will find your life, waiting to be made, chose, woven, crafted."

i love this! this is what i want my life to be. this year i will live my life each and every day. i will work for my goals and plans and dreams every day. i will remember to stop waiting for my life to begin, and start living it. i'm excited about where i am, and where i'm going {even though i have an open-ended 5-year plan} this is my new year's resolution.

"your life, right now, today, is exploding with energy and power and detail and dimension, better than the best movie you have ever seen. you and your family and your friends and your house and your dinner table and your garage have all the makings of a life of epic proportions, a story for the ages. because they are. every life is."

i hope this inspires you today.