Back in May, I blogged about my 'New Normal.' Well, now I have a new 'New Normal'.
In May, I had been unemployed for about a month, was planning my wedding that was less than a month away, had a contract on my house, and was packing everything up to move to another city. I was so busy at times that I barely had time to eat! I was sleeping horribly too, because I so much on my mind. I couldn't turn off the constant to-do list running through my head each night. I won't complain too much though, because I was overjoyed to be going through all of it and in the end be married to Brandon and get to see him every. single. day! But shoo-whee, life was non-stop through our entire 3 and a half month engagement!
Since blogposts are more fun with pictures....here's a few fun pictures of wedding planning stuff:
Wedding Dress shopping at David's Bridal with my parents....
....where I found the perfect dress!
Brandon and I picking out tuxes...and his awesome shoes!
A weekend in C-ville with Brandon's parents and sister putting together Wedding Invitations
A Weekend in L-ville.....my mom, Brandon's mom and I put together boutonnieres and bouquets while my Mamaw wrapped bird seed in tulle to be tossed on us at the wedding.
Licensed to Love - getting our marriage license about a month out from the wedding
Granny in D-ville making homemade butter mints....and Grandpa taste-testing them? :)
What a fun time it was to plan our wedding - Brandon says this is the only one we're gonna do though....no matter how much fun it was! ;) I, On the other hand, would like us to have a wedding every couple years or so!
So, now, on to my new 'New Normal'....
Unfortunately, I'm still unemployed. Architectural Drafting jobs, which are usually in plenty, are pretty much non-existent right now. No one is building!! I've contacted every architectural firm (and several construction companies) in the city either via phone, email or snail mail, pushing my resume and cover letter their way, only to hear 'we're not hiring." I'm starting to think outside the box and get creative in how I can market myself to other types of companies where I could still use my skills/education....instead of resolving to flipping burgers. We'll see what the Lord provides. Maybe now is the time to start some sort of business? Prayers would be appreciated.
All the wedding planning is, of course, over with and the wedding was simply perfect!! It truly was my dream wedding and I'm so thankful for the many folks who helped us pull it together so quickly. I highly suggest a short engagement....I don't know how we could have done anything longer. I was so ready to be Brandon's wife that I couldn't imagine having waited more than 3.5 months! I'm about half-way through blogging about the wedding. Read about that here.
Needless to say, I have quite a bit of time on my hand's these days. So, for the first 2 months or so after we were married, I was unpacking boxes and finding homes for stuff every day. I moved all my stuff into Brandon's already fully furnished 2 bedroom duplex.....so let's just say that we had to get creative on where to put all my stuff. And believe me when I say, I come with a lot of stuff! With numerous hobbies, unfinished projects, mass amounts of pictures, a love for dishes, lots of furniture, an abundance of knick-knacks and picture frames......we have utilized every square inch of our nearly 700 square feet. Stuff that we deemed unnecessary/unneeded considering the size of our place or that we had more than one of (due to combining households + receiving wedding gifts), we passed along to family and friends, donated or sold at yard sale. We also still have my parents attic full of even more of our stuff (that
Here's a pic of our Cozy Little Home Sweet Home:
(Only the left half is ours - the window on the far right belongs to the other half of the duplex so the division line is between those two windows under the porch)
I guess since I'm unemployed and have gotten on the other side of some major life changes....my mind has settled down too, because I'm sleeping like a baby these days! Save for the occasional night that I have to poke Brandon in the ribs for snoring, I'm getting some good solid rest these days. So much so that I'm dreaming like crazy. I don't remember dreaming so much before in my life!
Another thing I've been able to do since getting married (and not working) is cooking. I wasn't one to cook much as a single gal. I preferred to eat cereal for dinner rather than spend a ton of time cooking for just me. But that didn't mean I didn't enjoy cooking.....just that I chose not to. Since getting married, there's not too many nights that a home cooked meal isn't waiting for Brandon when he gets home form work (well, at least til October came and we were barely home - traveled every weekend!).
I've even begun to do some meal planning before I go grocery shopping so that I have everything I need to cook the planned meal for each night....and also so we're not buying things we don't need Also, since it's just the two of us and most recipes make larger amounts, we've been able to freeze a lot of left-overs and eat them later (saving me from cooking on a busy night). Of course, when I go back to work, Brandon will pitch in and help cook, but for now, this works really well for us and I'm enjoying how wife-ly it feels!
Here's a couple yummy recipes I've tried:
Left: Caribbean chicken with black beans and spanish rice
Right: Pot Pie from scratch (even the crust!) with fried green tomatoes (from my Granny)
Brandon does cook every now and then....his specialty is Chicken Stir Fry and it is Dee-Lish!!
I've only had one big mishap in the cooking department so far.....a slight Pyrex explosion. They replaced the dish though and Brandon ran to Chic-fil-A that night since dinner was ruined, so all was well, but I was an unhappy lady that night.
Here's where I spend the majority of my days right now:
I work on several things at this little desk....including scanning lots of old pictures to digital form....and sorting through and organizing files on my laptop.
I've got a ton of stuff to scan, the box below is only one of many (I'm a recovering pack-rat, trying to digitize things I want to keep so I can get rid of the actual item). And see those CD's and DVD's? Those had several pictures on them from other folks and from old back-ups of my computer. I've gradually sorted through those to make sure they are on my current computer and back-up (actually there was even more than there is pictured here - I filled an entire grocery bag with CD's! They've been confidentially destroyed now - it feels so good to purge!).
Along with sorting and digitizing things, I'm also organizing existing pictures and scrapbooking some. I found these two gems the other day.
That's me on the left when I was about 11.....yes, I was dressed like that out in public! And that's my Dad on the right, back in the 70's....isn't he Groovy?
A couple other things I've tackled as of late are putting Brandon's Race Medals into Shadow boxes (with space for one more after he does another Marathon in April) and I crocheted a scarf (I love scarfs!).
Up Next: Covering our couch pillows (left) with this new fabric I got (right):
Some others things I'm doing on a regular basis are attending a weekly Life Group (we're doing Beth Moore's Fruit of the Spirit study called "Living Beyond Yourself"); visiting my Grandparents in D-ville about every other week (which I'm loving!! - I've never lived so close to them before, they're only about 45 minutes away); and Brandon and I volunteer to help the Pastor at a local Hispanic church (we mainly do office work and filing and Brandon occasionally helps him put videos onto DVD's, but we enjoy it.)
Anywho....that's my new New Normal.....every day is kinda different really, depending on what I find myself getting into or dragging out. But I'm trying to really take advantage of this time off and get a lot done. I'll never get to live life like this again (once I get a job and/or kids come along!).
So, what's up in your world?
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