Spring 2016

Where is my flying car??! C’mon, you thought you’d have one by now too.

One daughter is turning 14 years old in a few days, another about to enter middle school and two toddlers that have replaced my teen tiny babies- where has the time gone?!

Last weekend we had our first big BBQ party here in Nevada. It felt good; it felt like home. Sure, there was no poker game afterwards and the party was over by 8pm, but it felt good and familiar nonetheless.

There have been no crazy life changes, nobody has lost their job in a while, we haven’t had to move lately, in general things are good.

My 32nd birthday is right around the corner and I am starting to feel old. It’s an odd feeling after being the perpetual “youngest” in every social circle.

The weather is getting warmer and the sun is out nearly every day and we are loving life in the desert; Spring is the most beautiful season here.

My best friend is coming to visit in a few weeks- it will be the first time I’ve seen her since we moved here two years ago!!! I am beyond excited! Thankfully she is able to stay a whole week, but I know that will feel like a day. It’s so delicious to have her visit to look forward to, it will be so sad when she leaves. But, I will get to see her twice this summer because in July I am in her sister’s wedding. Which also means a trip home to Washington- driving. Not looking forward to the driving part haha. But, since Al won’t fly, it is the only option.

So, that’s my Spring, 2016. Full of promise and potential for a great summer full of laughter and joy and growing old.

Mindset

Being grateful is a mindset. I have a serious negativity problem and I need to snap out of it. I’m not wealthy but I’m not poor either. My life may not be perfect but it’s pretty damn great. I just need to remember and focus on all the blessings I have. November is the perfect month to do a thirty day gratefulness challenge so this year I’m going to play.

Dear Facebook,

Here comes the gratefulness.

Love, Tina

Moving On

And so it begins. After months of stress, wondering if I was going to get paid at the end of each month, being in a state of “limbo” as far as planning, it happened. I have been laid off. For most people this is a depressing, sad day, not for me though. I am relieved and excited to finally be able to move on. And I do mean possibly quite literally *move* on- we are considering moving out of state, so that is definitely exciting. We’ve both wanted to move out of our small home town for so long and now it is a realy possibility.

It is the first day of spring and it is beautiful!

In other news, we are expecting again! It was a slight shock and definitely not planned like Eli, but we are very excited. I am three months along and due at the end of the summer. Squeee! I love being pregnant – the sickness, the bloating, the big belly, all of it, positive and negative. The fact that (we’re fairly certain) this will be the last time, is rather sad, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it!

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Today Al started a new job! After being unemployed for six months, this feels good for all of us. 🙂 He is really excited about the position and so am I since it involves samples of all sorts of super healthy organic oils! I spent all day yesterday cooking and getting things ready for the week, packing his lunch, doing laundry and hanging out with my kids- it was very enjoyable!

Now unfortunately there is a diconnect between starting a job and the end of unemployment. For the first few weeks we will be even more broke than we have been which is hard to imagine…. As soon as his checks start coming in regularly though we will be on our way back to stability…..if I just don’t lose my job now….

Making Grown Up Friends

The older I get the harder it is to make meaningful friendships. Scratch that, it’s always been hard. Maybe for some people it’s different but for me I’ve always had lots of acquaintances, “bar friends”, people I party with, even share hobbies with, but true “Friends” have always been rare. And that is not a diss on all those people I know, it just takes a lot of effort and time to be a really close friend and, especially as you grow older, it seems like everyone already has that person in their life. That grade school friend, that “bestie” (I HATE that term BTW) from way back when, you know what I mean. And then with kids and a husband and a job, there’s not much time to make new friends and cultivate new relationships. But….I feel like I’m turning a corner there, I now have a few people in my life with whom I am making it work, people who don’t mind coming and sitting at my  house with me and my children, people who are ok with going for a walk instead of out to a bar, people who feel natural in my life and not people whom I have to make time for because they can just be there anytime in my own everyday life and we enjoy each other’s company. For that I am grateful. Al will always be my best friend, but it sure is nice to have a few other outlets and people I can confidently called “friends”.