A swiftly tilting planet

Wait, what? Huh? What just happened?

I'm pretty sure that the planet I'm on tilts just a little differently so that everything major happens all at the same time. Read: quitting a job, moving, starting a job {which requires a 4.5 hour "commute"}, Andrew starting Year Two at school, etc. Oh my transition. It's not that I don't like change--I do--at least I think I do. I'm ready to leave this apartment tucked safely in my memory as our First and create Home in a tiny, cheap, new, challenging space. I'm ready to leave the world of cosmetics and hair and beauty and don navy blue scrubs and a Clemson purple stethoscope again. As much as I sometimes want to dig in my heels and yelp, "but this is easier the way it is!", I can't help but note that the transitions, literary climaxes, or the ever-cheesy Michael Jackson-esque key change in books, music, movies are usually the most exciting parts of the piece: where the audience is riveted, moved, watching with rapt attention. I think when change comes our way, God is not just watchful, He's giving a standing ovation, savoring His grace and hard work in our lives. Yes, Lord, and Amen.

As for the logistical bits, Andrew and I are moving our little family into a teensy, tiny apartment close to campus so that Andrew can walk to class and we can save some moola. Sometime in the next month we will be making that arduous 15 minute trek with all of our worldly goods, so if the airwaves go silent, don't worry about us. We'll probably be cramming all of our stuff into the single, cubby hole, non-walk in closet that the space affords. Awesome. Speaking of which, I recently did a massive closet purge, (only on my side, I'm still prodding Andrew to do his), in order to A) get a tax write off (yippieee!) and B) simplify and downsize. Just in time to squish everything into a closet that will barely fit my stuff, let alone Andrew's. Awesome, for the eh-second time-ah. Anyway, you will definitely be seeing organizational/decor updates and whatnot, (don't you love how the world whatnot pretty much covers everything? and whatnot? YES). However, if this planet does spin out of orbit to crash into the moon or something, you may have to hold on to your hats while we get things up and running enough to share. 

My brand, spankin' new, big-girl job starts September 13th and will require a 4.5 hour drive from here to there, weekly-ish. My plan for tackling such a commute is pretty loose as of right now, simply because I'm not sure what my schedule will be like and I will know more once the job actually starts. Duh. BUT. I have decided to use my time in the car wisely and listen to audiobooks instead of compulsively pressing the scan button, as many of you know, I likey to do. :) Andrew found this amazingly timely free audiobook app for our iPod--we'd been looking on Amazon and even on UNC's student library, but either they cost an arm and a leg, (i.e. ~$20 range. Yikes.), or there's a "wait list" and you only get them for seven days. Womp, wommmmp. I had to drive down last weekend for pre-employment paperwork and whatnot, (see, you have no idea what that means! They could've made me stand on my head or do the chicken dance in the cafeteria and you'd never know), and on the way there and back I listened to 19 chapters of Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Fo' free! I was a little leery of the aforementioned Brit-Lit chunker, but thought I would give it a shot. The worst that could happen is that I hated it, turned it off and went back to my beloved scan button. Ivanhoe is a classic and I've been feeling the need to read something meaty lately. It's awesome. SO GOOD. I-want-to-listen-to-it-right-now good. At first, I was like, "HUHWHAAAT??? Speak American!", but once you listen carefully for a little while you get into Sir Walter's writing language and style and it all starts to come together. I highly recommend it for long, solo car trips. 

I'm still praising the Lord for his provision and sovereignty, but you can pray for me for the Mommy-wow-I'm-a-real-nurse-now transition. I'm a leeetle nervous, but confident that His power is made perfect in my weakness ( II Corinthians 12:9) and my transformation will only make Him more famous if I'm the most unlikely candidate for success.

A promise to hold fast:

5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed but they sing as they return with the harvest. Psalm 126 

Post script: a very happy birthday to Mrs. Jamie Orr. I love you through and through! 

I spend time in the gym so I can eat food like this

Strawberry cobbler from PW. You heard me. Strawberry.

Date night self timer attempt #1. We were a little off.

and #2. I like to call our outfits "The Farmer in the Dell". Did you know--a dell, by definition, is a "small wooded valley"? What is that song about anyway? Hi-ho the derry-o? What the heck? Just please go read it. I think my favorite line is, "The cheese stands alone". Definitely.

Anyway, I know I always post pictures of ooey-gooey deliciously sinful and decadent food on here--but we don't eat like that all the time, I promise. It's just that grilled chicken and vegetables aren't really worth rooting through my purse for my camera. And I think you've all seen that familiar plate before. Just close your eyes and imagine. The night we made the cobbler we also made jerk chicken shish kebabs on the barbie--and they were so good and healthy. Yum. The night before that however--for our date--we went to the Cheesecake Factory. And we did have cheesecake. And it was really, really good. Then we went to Barnes and Noble for like four hours. Heaven, I'm in heaven!

Later, alligators!

I wear long sleeved shirts under short sleeved shirts under long sleeved shirts

Because lately I've been vacillating between depression over not having a place to hang my stethoscope and joy because God is, in fact, in control--after a quagmire of phone calls, emails, compulsively clicking "renew" on my job application accounts--I turn to Christmas to fill the void. Not in a sadly misguided eat-your-feelings kind of filling of the void, but when times get tough, tinsel can help.

So, I went to Barnes & Noble and Pottery Barn today. For four hours. Gasp! I read approximately nine children's Christmas books, Polar Express and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas included. Everything in me wanted to purchase a $4.95 Holiday tote bag and fill it chock full of books with titles boldly proclaiming that good always triumphs over evil and there is always a moral of the story and strangers will help pay for Christmas shoes for Mama. The bad news is that that's not possible. Bad things happen to good people. Hard work doesn't always return what you expect. But. I'm so thankful there's a but. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him...Romans 8:28. God is working. For me. For my good. His sleeves are rolled up and His brow is glistening with sweat. Good to know.

Pottery Barn miiiight possibly be my second favorite I-have-nothing-to-do-so-I'll-go-poke-around stores (Barnes & Noble being the first favorite). And they've recently turned over the floor to Christmas decor. That rhymes. Anyhow, right now their enchanting motifs make me want to turn klepto and line my pockets with hand blown ornaments, silvered wine stoppers, and cinnamon potpourri. Mmmm, five-finger discount. I've tamped down the urge, so you won't see my mug shot anytime soon, but I may have to decorate my apartment for Christmas before Thanksgiving. Would that be such a horrible thing? No. No, I don't think so. I did use a gift card from our June nuptials and I bought this (gorgeous green) and this (the smallest one) on sale! Both can be Christmas-y and both can be used during other seasons. Score! Thank you gift card giver!

IIIIII'm dreaming/of a [cheaaaaaaap] Christmas....that's why I'm going to use the leftover nuts from my nut wreath for ornaments. A little glue and a little twine and you've got a super cheap organic ornament! I'm thinking about pine cones as well. And glitter. I got all of my Christmas ornaments out today--all seven of them--and realized that this may not be the Christmas of a carefully collected, preciously ornamented tree. It might just have to be a graceful Fraser fur of nuts, pine cones, ribbon, crocheted snowflakes and white lights. Who knows, maybe I'll get sassy and throw in a red and green construction paper chain.

Wanna know a secret? (This is a non-noel bit of news.) Don't tell anyone, but I've started using vitamin and anti-oxidant rich, anti-aging Olay Total Effects face lotion plus SPF 15. I know--you're thinking, "anti-aging? What, are you trying to look like an infant?", but all we hear about these days is preventative medicine. Prevent: -verb- to keep from occurring, avert, hinder. to act ahead of; forestall. I'd rather layer on the lotion now than inject botulinum toxins into my crows feet later. Yeah! Other age interrupters? Sleep and exercise. Juuuust what you wanted to hear. ;)

As for the title of this posting, I have no excuse. It just popped into my head and came out through my finger tips.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow: Stephanie Ashmore and Ryan Lee = engaged!

Five second rule, and for some reason, this thing won't let me skip lines. ???

So, I know it hasn't been that long, but I got the blogging itch, so here I am again. The happenings of late are not much to write home--or anywhere--about, but I just think a quick recap will do us all some good.

Wednesday night was date night -->.

Andrew and I went to PF Chang's. We got lettuce wraps--delectable--, crispy green beans--que rica!--and orange chicken with brown rice--delicious. It was so great to be on a date with my husband. (Still weird saying that, FYI). But, we discussed the fact, nay, the delightful discovery, that our dates have taken on a different quality since we've gotten married. We have permission to dream aloud, so to speak. There is comfort in the commitment.

According to my workout log, I've walked 12.5 miles this week, Monday-Saturday. Every morning after coffee, Smartstart cereal, and a little Bible action, I trek down to the "gym" at the clubhouse. And then I trek back home to clean up, shower, and figure out what to do for the day. In light of my disengagement with, well, everything, I've taken quite a few trips to Barnes & Noble this week. Two to browse, one to pick up a world map, and another one to take back the US map that I thought was a world map. Today was the map-take-back day, and boy, was it slammed! I guess I underestimated the population of the area and the draw of the Streets at Southpoint, but there were so many people there today. It was all I could do to slide that map across the counter and get the heck out of dodge.

On Thursday evening, Andrew and I had the immense pleasure of hosting my middle/high school gal pal, Abby, for dinner. What a treat to see a familiar face, even one from many moons ago. Abby and I were BFF in middle school, and close friends in high school where we worked on the BEST student newspaper in the whole of America, The Tribal Tribune. Abby was high up in the ranks, I was a page designer and column writer. And by that, I mean Kelly and I screwed around the whole time. I mostly tried to be Martha Stewart and push recipes or pumpkin carving patterns, but apparently, the paper was trying to emit a more serious vibe.

Tonight we will probably watch The Count of Monte Cristo, courtesy of the Red, White and Blue--just kidding, no more Toby Keith references, I promise--courtesy of Netflix (hooray!), originally a novel by Alexandre Dumas about undying love, nasty betrayal, and calculated revenge. Edmond Dantes is played by the same dude who played Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's The Passion : Jim Caviezel. Makes total sense. They both get betrayed by a friend and give their lives for love. Yeah, yeah, I'm stretching it. Anyhoo, I'm excited. The novel is fantastic, too--if you haven't read it, you should.

If the movie thing is a bust, maybe we'll just pull the plug on a bottle of vino and figure out how the vacuum cleaner works. I know what my vote is. ;)

Dolla dolla bill, y'all

Ahem. Let me just push up my horn rimmed glasses and straighten my pocket protector before I get started: I studied my critical care book today. After three months of silence on the homework/exam front, I decided to stretch my mental faculties by cracking open the fabled textbook and brushing up on some critical illnesses. Delightful. It actually made me feel like a bonafide nurse again. Now. If only I could get a job that would soar above and beyond what I can learn in that book. It's a hard row to hoe, unemployment. I'm no farmer; I lack any type of green appendage. So I'll keep fertilizing, yanking out rocks, and watering, watering, watering until harvest time.

I've cleaned, straightened, organized and re-organized, worked out, checked job statuses, applied for new positions, planned meals, tried on my clothes (it's almost like shopping, except not), painted my toes a collegiate Cajun Shrimp and truthfully, I got bored. So, I actually ventured out of the comfort of my apartment, today--superconscious of my lack of a sense of direction and my South Carolina license plate. One I remedied with my GPS, the other I chalked up as payback for giving tourists in Charleston a hard time. I made it as far as the Southpoint Mall where I discovered myriad stores very much to my liking. Among them, Anthropology, Nordstrom, and (sigh) Barnes & Noble. My home away from home. Something about a Barnes & Noble--the smell, the books--gives me comfort. Maybe it's because anywhere, everywhere Barnes & Noble is, it never changes. The people perusing the shelves of books and magazines change and the queue in front of the Starbucks cafe might parade different looking people, but it's all basically the same. And I like it. Change is good--great--but don't change my Barnes & Noble. I sought greeting cards and Rosetta Stone Spanish, and much to my dismay the price tag on the latter boasted an arm and a leg, two body parts I'm very fond of. I've decided to go ahead and tackle the speaking Spanish dream, if it means I have to teach myself. I'm just not prepared to sell my first born to do it. So, we're still on the hunt for a well priced and worth it teaching tool.

This past weekend Andrew and I drove his truck to Hendersonville to get fixed by apparently the best fix-it man in the southeast--Ronnie. A broken air-conditioner is no laughing matter in the summertime. Too bad we couldn't have collected our perspiration and traded it for parts and labor because we sweated the whole four hours and 250 miles there. We dropped the truck off and wound our way around the mountain to the Davidson River campground where Andrew's family and then some were camped. It made me miss my family and the good ol' days. We passed the Fish Camp and Dolly's--two Cove Creek staples--ever-present in my childhood memories. Gosh, we had it good. My sister and I actually made sticky note count downs until Cove Creek camping weekend, beginning days before school even let out for the summer. We would use one sticky note for one week and tear it into 7 approximately equal parts, the idea being to tear each tab off as the day passed. It was thrilling to watch the yellow papers stuck to our bathroom mirrors dwindle to just a few tabs; our excitement heightened with every passing week, every sticky note in the trash. And finally, Mama and Daddy would pull out the camper and get our boxes down from the attic: time to pack. Joy, rapture! Nothing could elicit such giddiness like a small rectangular cardboard box stocked first with a bathing suit, jean shorts and economy sized trash bags. It's the simple things, y'all.

For tonight, it's leftover spaghetti in light of date night tomorrow (woohoo!). I don't know where we're going or what we're doing and frankly, I don't care. As long as I get some face-time with my husband, I'm good.

Until next time.