Looks like I failed again and haven't updated in 6 months... oops! Anyway, we packed up all our things and moved to Springfield (finally!). We've gotten settled in and I've been at my new job for 2 weeks now. It was actually a nice break between jobs and moving wasn't too stressful. We took a short camping trip right before the move and it was pretty fun. We canoed down part of Buffalo River in Arkansas. Half-way through the canoe trip, it started pouring down rain so we pulled off the river to eat lunch and huddled under some trees for about an hour and a half while we waited for a lightening storm to pass. We didn't have much of a choice because of time constraints, so we got back in our canoes in the lightening and rain. About a half hour later, it finally stopped raining and we got to enjoy what was left of the float. It was pretty enjoyable and I caught the most fish! After getting back to the tent, we decided we didn't want to take the chance of getting another storm in the middle of the night so we drove to the nearest town and stayed in a hotel. They had an awesome hot tub :) We went back to get the tent the next morning and went to see some cavern and springs and stayed in a small cabin on White River the last night. Headed back to Carbondale to pack up our stuff in the trailer that night to head out the next morning. We got most of the stuff in, but thought we would have to make another trip (4 hours each way). We got optimistic and rearranged the trailer in the morning and managed to get everything in the trailer and cars in one trip. Thank goodness!! It was such a relief to have everything in our new apartment, even if it was a huge mess. At that point, I was a little stressed because that was Thursday evening and I started my new job on Monday morning. Luckily, we were able to get mostly everything put away that weekend. And Aaron was wonderful by helping getting everything set up and putting some little last things away. So, I've been at my new job for a few weeks now and it is a LOT different than my last one. I knew it would be, but I miss my Carbondale work friends :( The doctor is really nice and pretty relaxed so nothing has been too stressful. The other girls that work there have been nice, too. I basically got thrown in to doing some therapy without really knowing much, but it's a computer-based program, so I mainly provide motivation and tell them when to take breaks. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but now that I am learning more, it's not that bad. It's so much different than my old job because, here, everyone has their specific duties, and I am used to everybody being able to do everything. Aaron has been amazing. He is studying this summer to get ready for school and he is cleaning and cooking me dinner when I get home from work. I am so lucky to have such an awesome man in my life!! I couldn't wish for things to be any better. And it's almost our 1 year anniversary coming up, too! Holy cow, did time fly by! Oh, and we got birds! Aaron's parents had birds that their house, but they don't ever get let out of their cage because of the cats and dog, so we took them home with us. We thought it would be good for them to get some exercise because they haven't had any for a while. The other day, we took them imto the spare bedroom and let them out. BAD IDEA. They flew around a little bit, but not much because their wings aren't very stong so they would go up and down a lot. And they haven't fully trusted us yet, so they freaked out when we tried to get them to put them back in the cage. And they couldn't steer very well, so they flew into walls a lot... we thought they might have brain damage after that incident. Eventually (after they wore themselves out completely), we were able to get them to step up onto a perch and put them back in the cage. That was about 3 days ago.. not sure if they've fully recovered yet.

Blessed Beyond Belief

I really have been meaning to update the blog more than once every six months, but I guess it didn't work out that way. Six months of being married has absolutely flown by. It still feels like the wedding was just a few weeks ago. I am glad time is going by so quickly now because I cannot wait to move up to Springfield in June. Don't get me wrong, Carbondale is great, but not worth being 4 and a half hours away from home. I definitely took living close to my family for granted because I really miss it now that I'm gone! In less than 6 months we will be able to come home for even a day if we wanted to! We're going to look at apartments sometime in March and I cannot wait. Our apartment in Murphysboro is pretty tiny, but it's perfect for now, and your first apartment isn't meant to be the biggest anyway.
Aaron and I have been doing really well since we've been here. Aaron is doing well in school (I think so anyway). He just took the mid-unit exam for the second unit so that means he is half way through his first year of med school! He is very good at disciplining himself and making himself study when he needs to. I am so proud of him because I know I would never be able to do that! He's set up a research study type thing (pending the committee accepts his research proposal) for the summer as soon as we get to Springfield and it's in the field he is wanting to go into. Hopefully that get's his foot in the door with the doctors he will be working with for residency maybe? It would be nice to be able to stay in one spot for a while if he gets into a residency program in Springfield.
I am working at an Optometrist's office in Carbondale and I absolutely love it. I never would have thought twice about working at an eye doctors' office before, but I am so happy. And I was so blessed to find a job so soon after moving because all you hear about is that no one can ever get a half-way decent job, much less one that they like. Well, I found a great job, working with wonderful people, and a fantastic boss. I am sad to be leaving in a few months, but I am looking forward to finding a job in Springfield doing the same thing. It will be tough to find a job with such great people, but I am excited to get more experience in the field.
As far as home life goes, I am getting to be a much better cook than I thought I would be :) Not to brag, but I made a awesome vegetable chili tonight for dinner. And chicken/tofu parmesan is on my best meals list, too. I am finding a good balance between working full time, cooking, cleaning and other stuff like that. It has been somewhat of a change to go from a school schedule to working full time, but I definitely like working better. As soon as I come home, I have no homework to do or anything like that. Yeah, I work later in the evenings, but I can relax and no have to worry about anything like that. And I get paid for it. Which is the best part.
So all in all, life is going really great for us right now and it is only going to get better. Hopefully I will be able to update more than once ever six months, but no promises :)