Change in Routine

It's 11:30pm and I'm waiting on Steve to get home. He's been training at the plant during 2nd shift so he doesn't get home till past midnight. First couple nights I tried to go to bed before he got home; however, I found it hard to sleep until he got home (maybe it had something to do with that unplanned nap at 6pm...).

I got some furniture from Target that arrived right after we returned from our detour to IN. While unpacking I came upon some gift cards from the wedding that I thought I had used, but apparently hadn't! What a nice little home-warming gift! First I put together a lamp, which a piece got jammed and I got frustrated; however, Steve was able to fix the problem. I also got two bedside tables that were AWFUL to put together!!! It took me about 2 hours to put them together. If it weren't for the fact that they matched the bed nicely, I probably would have taken them back.

I also got the Ikea furniture put together and the office organized and functioning. My list of "house projects" is quickly dwindling! All I have left on the list is curtains to go around the house. Just have to find the right ones, or the right fabric and I'll make my own.

Here are some pictures of the furniture additions:

In a few days, I will be making another trip to Indiana to help my friend as well as be in her wedding next weekend! The plan was for me to drive to IN on Monday (returning my parents' car) and he would drive up Friday after work. Well, that Friday is his last 3-midnight shift, meaning if he were to get off work and drive straight in to IN, he would arrive 9am Saturday morning. The wedding starts at 1:30 and he needs sleep in there somewhere. So we're not really sure on his plan yet... we're playing that one by ear. For those of you who know me, I am not a spontaneous person and I have everything planned out, so not knowing his arrival for next weekend will drive me crazy. Oh well, I guess I have to learn to trust God in all situations (no matter how small they are!)

Detour. . .

So. . . Steve and I secretively planned a trip to IN without anyone knowing (okay, so I'm not THAT good at keeping secrets. . . i told 3 people beforehand, but only 1 family member!). On Friday night (a week ago), Steve and I showed up at my parents' house at 11pm. Steve had gotten off work a little early and we drove straight through to Indiana. My parents were surprised to see us standing there! We pulled off our surprise :)

On Sunday, Steve headed to Cincinnati for some training (main reason for our drive home). While he was in Cincy training, I got to spend a few days with my family. We had a girls day (nieces came over!) and a couple movie nights (with my good friend April who heads off to Israel soon). On Wednesday, I drove my parents' car to Cincinnati to meet up with Steve. We made a quick trip to Ikea to pick up some more furniture (a desk chair and shelfing unit) and then met up with Steve's sister and her boyfriend for a fabulous dinner at Dewey's (famous in Cincy for its Pizza).

On Thursday, Steve and I woke up early and drove back to Jackson. We were in two separate cars [yes, I took my parents' car to Jackson. I will return it in 1.5 weeks for one of my close friend's wedding]. We got home just in time for Steve to head into work for a meeting with his boss. I went to the grocery store (first time during a weekday since I have a car!) and restocked our house. Now I'm trying to get the house back in order (had to build furniture, unpack, organize food. . . ) as well as fill out a ba-zillion applications. My Indiana license arrived while I was gone; so, I was finally able to apply for my TN license. Now that the licensing is finally all sorted out, I can turn in my applications. I am keeping busy busy busy!

Same Old Thing. . .

I haven't blogged in a couple days because I've had nothing to blog about. Steve's going on his 3rd week of work. You can only clean your house so many times in a day (and without a car and no place to go) there's not much I do during the day. I try to keep some project going, but that only entertains me for so long. I've been working on a cross-stitch pattern I started when I was younger and never finished.

Front landscaping is almost completely weeded. I got a hibiscus tree to go along with the two hibiscus bushes I added to the previous bushes. I literally have a square foot patch to finish weeding; however, it is home to a toad family and they kind of freak me out. So I'm hoping they'll "hop along" in the next couple days realizing their weed patch is gone.

The previous tenants gave us a mower; unfortunately, it decided to not work when they gave it to us. We got a new sparkplug, but it was a no go. So we ending up buying a new lawn mower. We've lived here for almost 4 weeks and haven't mowed the yard once! The yard is made up of mostly weeds and no grass, so growth is pretty slow. Steve started the yard project last night, but it was way too hot and muggy to complete the job, so he has to finish that up tonight.

When our lives get more exciting, I will blog on a more steady basis. If you are related to me and reading this, congratulations because you're one of the few! I just found out this week that my family knows about my blog but don't read out. So thanks loyal readers who care about our life in Tennessee :).

Job Search

I have had many people ask me the same question, "How's the job search going?" So I thought I would answer everyone's curiosity with one simple blog post. Well I am still waiting on my Indiana license. I discovered (with the help of a very close friend!) that I had not officially applied for my license. Purdue had sent all the paper work in; however, I was unaware that I had to send some money in to get the paperwork processed. Well the money has been sent and my IN license should arrive in the next couple of weeks.

Once I have my Indiana license, I can apply for a TN license. I have already started the paperwork and requesting the appropriate information from Purdue. I want to have all the paperwork ready to go the minute my IN license arrives in the mail. Once I've sent off the TN paperwork, I can turn in the bazillion applications I have stacked up.

I have done lots of research on the local schools. I live in Madison County which doesn't have the best public school system. Apparently, as a teacher in the public school system, you must be prepared to be cussed at and/or assaulted on a daily basis -- not so much my cup of tea. Luckily, we live really close to Gibson County which has a great public school system and the need for teachers. Although, there aren't a huge need for Social Studies teachers. Hopefully some will retire in the next month and more positions will open!

In researching the public schools, I have discovered that there are quite a few "special school districts". I haven't really figured out what that means, other than that they're within the counties but are its own corporation. I will be filling out a total of 10 teaching applications, 3 sub applications, and a secretary application ( I figured I might as well try for anything just to get into a school).

Why look for a job and give up on living the dream of sleeping in, being home all day, and not having a care in the world? Well, the deal is that we will get a 2nd car when I get a job. So, I guess if I want to get out of the house, I have to come up with a reason to be out of the house. Plus, how else am I gonna pay for all those trips back and forth from Indiana?

Around the House

I have been on a yard kick here recently. Our grass (or lack there of) is horrible. Our lawn is filled mostly with weeds. Steve likes it because it doesn't need mowed much. The front of our house had a few bushes; however, there were gaps where plants were missing and the weeds were terrible! I have been weeding around the bushes, trimmed the bushes, and planted a couple of hibiscus plants in the front.

I have also been working on the details inside the house as well. Steve's sister got him a Bed Bath & Beyond Gift card for graduation. We have been using it to buy little decorations to go around our house. Thanks Ash for the gift card!! Along with the decorations comes lots of pictures. My mom is quite the picture taker, which is one of the many things I have inherited from her. One thing I have learned about pictures since being married is that its hard to take pictures with both of you in them! So sorry that a lot of pictures I post are of just Steve (I need to convince him to take the pictures so I can be in some!).

I thought decorating our two room apartment was hard to decorate! When you don't have a lot of stuff and a lot of room, your walls seem to be way bigger! I have managed to fill some of the walls. One HUGE blessing is having a fabulous artist as my sister! I am pretty sure I have one of her pieces in almost every room of our house. Once I get her new print framed over the fireplace, I'll be sure to add the picture!

In the top picture to the right, the geometric shelves were a purchase from Bed Bath & Beyond. The clock was a wedding gift and the picture is one of our engagement pictures with the rose Steve proposed with in the frame. (Have I mentioned I'm the sentimental type??)

The next picture shows two oil paintings that my sister did. Surprisingly, they matched that shower curtain almost perfectly!

If you remember from a previous blog, I explained how my dad, brother-in-law, and sister drove 8 hours to surprise me with my kitchen table. Here is the table that was worth that 8 hour drive in a van with no air conditioning! Oh, and the picture in the background is another print from my sister. Have I mentioned how great of an artist she is??

There are many more decorations around the house, but didn't want to bore you all with my house pictures. Now that everything has found its place within our home, my days are filled with me reading, blogging, doing chores, and watching lots of television! Pretty boring life I lead, but I guess its not that boring if you're still reading my blog :). Gotta go do some more television watching and couch lounging before making dinner.

Happy Independence Day!

We spent our July 4th like every other day. We tried out a new church in the morning (it was a little too big for our taste, so we're gonna keep searching around), went out for a BBQ lunch, and then came home. Steve played games on his computer while I got into playing Guitar Hero. We saw a few fireworks out our window (shot off from the next neighborhood) but did not do any ourself (found out its illegal to buy fireworks in Jackson!). Oh well. . .

On Monday, Steve had the day off so we headed to Shiloh National Military Park. The trip started off with a little video about the battle at Shiloh. We did a driving tour around the park and got out of the car at certain spots. We walked along Sunken Road (for you non-history buffs, the Union soldiers used the natural "trench" to shoot at Confederates in the open field) and saw more monuments then I care to see. HA! Seems like everywhere you looked in that park there was a monument marking a general's headquarters, an infantry's camp, or a burial monument.

We were a little disappointed with the trip. I think we had a higher expectation of what would be there. I'm not sure exactly what we expected, but we expected more than monuments with a little plaque next to it. I was excited to get to see the site of the first Civil War field hospital, but it was quite the let down. When we got there, there were freshly planted trees in a fenced area with a plaque containing a diagram of the field hospital. I thought maybe there would be a replica tent to walk through or something -- nope. The trip was still humbling in just thinking about all our country has gone through to gain and maintain its freedom. It was weird to think that I was walking on the ground that is marked as the bloodiest battle field in the Civil War.

Before embarking on the driving tour, we ate a picnic lunch. Here is Steve having waaaay too much enjoyment out of his tuna kit (kinda like a lunchable, but with tuna -- disgusting!)

Here we are standing in Sunken Road. Behind us is the field that the Confederate soldiers stood aground while trying to shoot at the Union soldiers in the "trench" (more like a tree line).

Here is the famous Peach Orchard whose petals looked like snow through all the bullets. Here was another trip letdown. As you can see, these are all freshly planted trees surrounded by fence. It looked nothing like the Peach Orchard history paints in my mind.

Here is Bloody Pond. It got its name from all the wounded soldiers who came to the pond to bathe their wounds as well as drink. All the blood from the soldiers and horses stained the pond red. It still has a red tint (although, I'm guessing it has to do with the Tennessee clay that you find everywhere).

A Touch of Home

Well my family has come and gone and it was a very nice week! My mom, sister, and nieces kept me busy while Steve was away at work. We did so many things while they were here. We went to Walmart and got all sorts of goodies, did crafts, made t-shirts, played on a slip-n-slide, and had a "Tennessee fireworks party".

I wasn't sure when they would arrive. My mom led me to believe that they wouldn't arrive till later in the afternoon. Much to my surprise I got a knock on my door from some little girls around noon.

We went out to lunch one day and brought our own entertainment with the little ones and a camera.

We did tons of crafts with the little girls like these crowns and also t-shirts. This is how Gabbie usually looked (fussy) unless she was with her Ahm (my mom). I think there are some attachment issues there :)

Allie on the Slip-N-Slide. She loved it (as if you can't tell!)

Emily being quite the ham on the Slip-N-Slide. She kept trying new ways to go down.

Gabbie was quite the observer. She enjoyed watching her big sisters on the Slip-N-Slide but she did not want to do it herself.

Here is our "TN Firework Party". Apparently its illegal to buy real fireworks in Jackson, so all you can buy in Jackson is is the confetti poppers. Let's just say. . . our backyard is VERY Pretty!

On Thursday night, at around 11pm, my dad, brother-in-law, and sister surprised us by showing up on my doorstep. My dad had brought me my table that I bought awhile ago but wouldn't fit in the car on the trip down. We had to be creative on the sleeping arrangements, but i think everyone got a "soft" place to sleep. Thank you family for a touch of home in Tennessee! (BTW, Steve has come out of his shock coma from the surprise pop-in).