(The Short List)
I could probably list about 100 things that have been taking up our time. But when it comes down to it, anything worth mentioning falls into one of the following categories. So here is the rundown...
3. The house
We moved into our house in November, officially closed in January, and are just now getting around to "The List" of projects we want to do. At the top of the list: planting a garden and installing hardwood floors. We started Operation Deliciousness last weekend and still have work to do. Yesterday, we drove up to Eugene for a huge sale and got a great deal 709 sq. ft. of hardwood floors. We are super pumped to make our "canned" house a little more "us", and what better way to start with than yummy food and wood floors? More on these projects (with pics of course) to follow as they progress.
2. Work, work, work, all day long...
If I were prioritizing this list by time spent, this category would hands down be #1. While we are grateful to have good jobs, we also wish we had a little more balance. However, you won't find too many complaints here, because Joe is loving his new job and I am happy to have enough work to help us make ends meet.
When I say Joe loves his "new job" I am referring to his promotion. Joe was finally promoted to his forester position after 5 months of working on the crew. In short, he is now using his brain and his degree, instead of just using his body for physical labor. He is the Reforestation Forester at Lone Rock Timber Co. and enjoying every day. His days are long, usually 7am-5am and sometimes longer, but he is learning a lot, gets to be outside every day, and sometimes even gets to take little Jackie Poo with him. He is helping trees grow big and strong :)
As for me, I have a random mix of work taking up most of my time. Subbing has picked up A TON. I typically sub 4-5 days a week, and honestly get more calls than I really want. In addition, the PE Curriculum I am creating is in full-swing and starting to become a little overwhelming. Any day that I don't sub (and a lot of my weekends) are dedicated to this project. Lastly, I am also coaching track at Roseburg High School. Yes, I am making my return to the track after a 9 year hiatus. While I am enjoying my time as a coach, I forgot how time consuming track can be. We have practice every day from 3-5pm, one dual meet per week that usually goes until 8pm, and the killer- invitationals EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND in April/May. I really enjoy the athletes and other coaches I work with, but it definitely consumes a little more of my time than I had originally anticipated.
1. Family and friends
Ok, now for the good stuff. The last couple of months have been JAM PACKED with family and friend time, and it has been awesome. One of my bestests from Missouri came home to her beloved Oregon over Spring Break. It was SO good to hang out with her in Portland and actually give her a hug in person. Some of our other best friends, Blair, Mo, Caleb, Jessie, and Colton have all been down to visit/hang out with us in the Burg. (Makes me feel like we almost have friends here... almost.) We have been to Portland several times to see my family and various friends, including Brandon and Merissa who are expecting! I should also mention our first return trip to Newcastle since we moved back to Oregon. The main reason we went up was to attend a friend's wedding, but we squeezed in as many visits as we could! We stayed with the Wilson's on Friday and had ton of fun with their fam, before seeing all of our old Seahawk friends at the wedding on Saturday. The wedding was beautiful and A TON of fun. It was so great to see all of our friends up there, especially John and Dani Carlson, who we stayed with on Saturday and are also expecting! (Noticing a pattern here?) Click here for more pics of our return to Newcastle.
Ok. That was a lot of info. Hopefully I will stay more on top of things so I don't need to try and squeeze 2 months of our lives into one measly post. Below is a random smattering of pics to document the aforementioned events. In a valiant effort to limit the # of pics posted here, (which is REALLY difficult for me to do), check my facebook albums if you care to see the rest....
Subbing isn't always so bad... here are some cards a 3rd grade class made me. In our short time together, they learned that I love dogs, pie, sports, and OSU. See how they incorporate them all? So freaking cute and thoughtful, it made my day :)
Hiking with Jessie and Jack near Roseburg
Running with Jack on the North Umqua Trail
Beautiful day on the North Umqua River
All of the doggies, ready to go
Love this lady!
Doggies aren't the only ones who get to play in water...
Hiking with some of my favorites :)
Loving the view at the Newcastle Golf Club
So good to see all of these girls!
Joe with some of his buddies
I heart Seattle skylines
Mustache mayhem, so awesome
Joe has made me more conservative. I have made him a dancer :)
Joe and some of his old teammates
Sneak peak at the garden... separate post and pics to come!
