It's All Good

I honestly don't have much to say right now. I mean, I started a post that was about the weather, if that tells you anything. (Although I'm not certain I think the weather is such a dreadful subject, I know it seems desperate if I'm willing to write an entire post on the topic.) However, I kind of like updating this old thing these days, so here I am.

The past few weeks have looked something like this:

Going on some walks with this guy.

Seeing "Race" at the nice theater in Providence.

Gorgeous skies.

Spending a couple hours with this face...

...and this one...

...and this one. (Wade-O desperately wanted my phone)

From one of our walks out by the golf course.

Beck before the time-change, we woke up to this bright and brilliant sunrise.

Aaaaand a bit of this face. (Brooker, you make me think of Animal in this photo! #compliment)

Life is pretty good, you know? Including work (since my last post I seemed a little down-trodden in that respect).

Andy and I keep busy with work and church callings (he: YM 2nd counselor. me: RS 2nd counselor). We've gotten out in nature as much as possible the past few weeks, most frequently for Andy to get back into the photography thing. (He's had the itch to get back into it lately, and I support that decision. He has a BA in photography, after all, and he's quite good at what he does.) Mostly, we drive around the west part of Cache Valley and he gets out and takes pictures while I sit in the car and read. (Currently reading The Lake House by Kate Morton, and ohmyheck, it's a good one!)

Spring Break is just over a week away, and I'm super excited for that--not only because it's a weeklong vacation from work, but also because I get to meet my sister-in-law Sadie for the first time. (Sadie has been serving a mission in the NH/ME area since Sept. 2014, so she wasn't around when Andy and I met and fell in love and got engaged and married lickity-split. I "met" her via Skype on Mother's Day and Christmas last year, plus she sends fun pictures and videos of herself and her companions from the mission; she's straight-up delightful and funny and I can't wait to meet her in person!)

So. Yeah. All is well. 

I miss my old job

I lucked out in landing the job of my dreams (SLP in a private clinic) right out of grad school, and I got to work there (with fun clients and fabulous co-workers) for nine years.

Now I'm in the school setting, and although it's a better fit for me than a hospital could ever be, it's not private practice. I'm not in charge of my own schedule, and I can't take off a day or two because I feel like I need a "mental health" day. (And in education, I feel like I might require more of those per year than I needed in private practice. Eesh!)

It's also been a hard adjustment having to work on Fridays. I know, I feel like a jerk even writing it, but it's something I got used to real quick, having 3 day weekends every. single. week. Getting myself out of the door on Friday mornings is haaaaard!

There are so. many. meetings. Faculty. Professional development. PLCs. IEPs. More PDs. More IEPs. And another PD or two for good measure. (And, on occasion, three IEPs back-to-back-to-back all in one day, all after contract hours.)

Also, I've gotten sick a handful of times since school began mid-August. I figured I had a stellar immune system, having worked in a pediatric private practice for nine years, but the middle school is, like, a petri dish of germiness, and I seem to catch a good portion of whatever's going around, and it's not cool.

That's not to say that working in a public school doesn't have its perks, though. I have vision and dental insurance, which I've never had in my adult life. (Andy's work pays for our health insurance, but they don't have vision/dental plans.) It's pretty cool to just have a co-pay for these appointments, if I'm being completely honest with you.

As much as I miss my Fridays off, I'm 3 months away from a legit summer break. I'm stupid excited just thinking about all the books I can read, and hanging out with my mom and SIL sometimes (since they're teachers, too) while Andy is at work.

Aaaaand it's nice to be on salary. It's nice to get the holidays off without it hurting the bottomline, you know?

Also--and this is most important--I love the people I work with. I've gotten to know a handful of the English/Language Arts teachers fairly well, and they are awesome people! And I love the crap out of my Special Ed. team. I LOVE THEM. They've been patient and helped me transition into public school life. And the Special Ed. directors at the district level are about as supportive as they can be. I'm so grateful to them!

And as much as I miss my old job, I realize that I'd rather deal with the stresses of this new job here in Logan with Andy in my corner, than to be back at my dream job without Andy. It's been a big year of big changes, but Andy's worth it all. He's been a good cheerleader for me; he's patient and listens to my stresses, and he's literally my shoulder to cry on, and I don't regret leaving it all behind for him.

That face. The one on the right. He makes everything okay.

Also, it's good to grow and challenge oneself in so many ways, right? I'm growing professionally, doggone it!

*vent over

I mean, I wake up to views like this every morning! (Although I think this is just pre-sunset?
But you get what I'm saying.) Cache Valley, you're beautiful!

I mean, really.

Some thoughts on our life right now

One year ago today, Andy took me on our first date.

As we've been anticipating our one-year-of-knowing-each-other anniversary, Andy and I have been reminiscing a lot, and talking about how fast things can change.

Andy and I went skiing/snowboarding at the beginning of the month, and we drove past my last apartment on our way up. The very apartment that Andy helped me move into less than two weeks after we met. The apartment I lived in for a grand total of...114 days, if my math is right. The very apartment where Andy and I spent the majority of our time dating--especially if you consider all the time we Skyped. The same apartment where Andy and I first said the "L" word, right there on my couch in the living room. I'll never drive by that apartment without thinking of falling in love with Andy...

As we celebrated Andy's birthday in January, I reminded him, "Last year was your last birthday as a single man, and you had no idea what was coming."

A lot of our conversations end up with me saying, "You had no idea what was coming." (Not because I'm a bad wife, and not because I didn't show him my real self before we got married--but because, I think, he's just seen MORE of my real self. I mean, we we're with each other a lot since we got married, and we've gotten to know each other really well over the past seven months; we know each other's likes and dislikes and quirks. And as far as quirks are concerned, I have a lot more than Andy does. Lucky Andy!)

But I digress...

I feel lucky that Andy and I have settled into marriage as easily as we have. I know things will change when babies come, but I'm not entirely sure it won't be just as wonderful. Life with Andy by my side is fun, and he helps make my life feel less stressful, too, probably because he's such a calm soul.

We keep ourselves busy with family and church callings and light traveling and seasonal fun.

These are two of the four jack-o-lanterns we carved.

At the pumpkin walk in North Logan.

I made apple torte maybe in November? I need to make it again!

We've gone to church a LOT of times :)

We had Thanksgiving with my family,  and my pie plate met an untimely end.

I used my new pie birds in some apple pies/crisps.

We decorated for Christmas. Our tree was called Clara.

Just before heading to Andy's work Christmas party.

Temple Square. The Saturday before Christmas. With every other Mormon in SLC.

A photographer kindly volunteered to take our pic.

We spent Christmas with our Duncans in IF.
I got Andy a Death Star Perplexus, and all the Duncanses LOVED it. 

My Duncanses (minus Sadie and Riley)

We rang in the New Year playing a crazy game (Betrayal at the House on the Hill?) with Brent

Also on NYE, Andy made the most amazing stir-fry I've ever had. #DuncanTradition

Our wedding photos are up!!

Andy's birthday cake. This stuff is maybe the best cake I've ever had.

Riding at Beaver Mountain.

The Ice Castles in Midway!

Sitting on a frozen throne.

I end up making pie quite often because we want it.

Temple date

It's been a long, cold winter, so I've been focussing on how darned beautiful Cache Valley is.

This is how I "watched" the Super Bowl. I hung out with Jane, Julie and baby Wade. And eating.

Matchy-matchy shirts. (Proof of Andy's love for me.)

Golly, I like being married to my Andrew.