Life moves fast...

The day has arrived. That inevitable day we all new was coming when the Olson clan would be leaving us. I cannot speak on behalf of many who also know them from here, but I believe all of whom I'm thinking of can agree that they will be outrageously missed. And in the back of my mind I'm also thinking: "Italy! How exciting!" (and scary) but in a good way. The things they will see and the experiences they will share as a family and as parents raising their son, I'm afraid, simply cannot compare to the lifestyle here in EAFB. I wish them all the adventure Bri can handle ;) and many more happy memories in their new home. FYI, I will do my best to keep my farewell to the Olsons blog at a minimum tear jerker level. But may I take some time to spotlight on my new friend, Bri? I have labeled her as my favorite neighbor in comparison to the other two places we've lived lol. Granted we've only been here for just over 4 months, however; Bri was one whom I can ho...

Dear 2012,     where are you going?! I am currently sitting in the month of July trying to remember how I got here so quickly. Did you know my husband and I just celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary? 4 years! Didn't we just meet yesterday? We must have married the very next day if we're already at 4 years. We took a short trip next door to Wyoming to visit Devil's Tower National Monument where we experienced a beautiful day hiking, walking, and just enjoying each others company. Very cool but I must admit we're a lot more excited about our next anniversary. We're desperately clinging to our dream of celebrating our 5th anniversary in Hawaii-so that would be the only reason I encourage you (2012) to pass by quickly. But don't misunderstand, so far we're enjoying your company. You've provided time enough in the first 6 months for us to experience many things. I wouldn't do anything differently.  I will be frank with you, 2012. I'm pretty nervo...

I got the job. Whoop dee doo. No, I'm not particularly thrilled or excited but I am thankful. I find it ironic that out of all the jobs I applied/interviewed for I ended up getting the one I least wanted. The retail rewind and do it all over again type of job. Working every Saturday and in the evenings, too. Is it too much to ask that I get a job that doesn't have me working nights and weekends? At least I have Sunday off. Anyway, I truly am thankful. I just really hope and pray this job turns out to be better than I think it will. I suppose in the mean time, I can still make money and look for a job elsewhere. So far, the job has me in "training" status. (Be aware, I am purposefully not saying the name of the job due to the fact that I am less than thrilled and it could be interpreted as a personal thing against the company-which it is not.) I simply wished to stay out of the retail world if I could've helped the situation. Lots of paper work, learn to use a regi...

I started college this week, again. After graduating over 2 years ago I have decided to return. Muhahaha! Actually, school may be the one who has the last laugh. My first and only class of the semester is Anatomy and Physiology with lab... In effort to make a career for myself, I've decided to go for radiology. Before I apply for the program at the local hospital; however, I need to complete a few prerequisites that weren't otherwise covered under my business degree. And that's okay. Over the next year I'll have time to really focus on my studies and hopefully get enough volunteering hours under my belt so that I may become a more desirable candidate for the program. Yes, I am in competition so-to-speak. :/ And so it starts with A & P I w/ lab. The first day of class was basically all terminology. I find it all very interesting and look forward to that stuff. But yesterday was the other side of things-chemistry. However general that overview was considered ...

So, we get to the dealership where this truck is located. The one that is said to meet basically all of Jeff's criteria. The salesman whom Jeff had been speaking with over the last week was consistent with how Jeff had described him: No pressure, down-to-earth, comfortable to talk with. I may have never been in the spot where it comes down to making a deal, but we've met our fair share of less than desirable, pushy car sales people. And this guy was a breath of fresh air. Never once did we get the feeling he was a game player (he may have been but he never advanced it in our direction). So onward we go... Because the salesman and Jeff had already briefly discussed numbers when Jeff decided to put a hold on the truck, we weren't surprised or offended when the salesman asked to run an appraisal on our car so he could start generating the trade-in offer (assuming we wanted to pursue the truck). We swapped keys and he left us for a good 10-15 minutes so we could look over the...

This past weekend Jeff and I traveled to Minnesota. Here's the story:   We set out at approximately 10pm on Thursday after a late dinner at Firehouse Brewing Co. They seriously have the best soup! Anyway, Jeff squeezed in a good couple hours of sleep before we left since he had also worked this same day we left. I, of course; did not as I was too, well, what was I? Ready?...yes, I was simply ready to hit the road and be there. Usually I tend to be more anxious/excited/stressed or something along those lines when it comes to bigger plans such as the ones we made for the weekend. The plan in whole was to get our Volvo repaired and trade it in for a truck Jeff found in the area that same day. That sounds a little silly but it'll make more sense in a minute.  Jeff has been searching for a truck for quite sometime-as in about 2 years. Failing to find anything in Florida worth our time, we were content to stick with our little Volvo sedan while we settled in South Dako...

Today I woke up feeling weird. Ever have those days? You can't pin point what it is, you just know you don't feel quite like yourself. I imagine it's just all the little things adding up again. For one, Jeff and I are looking in to trading in the car for a truck. I hope the one we're going after works out. It's a very practical and affordable choice if the salesman will continue to be cool about everything. He seems to be the only one who has given us the opportunity to talk about seriously buying. Given that any vehicle we've found worth pursuing is in another state, the salespeople dislike that they can't see our trade-in and pretty much shut the door. Anyway, whatever will be will be. At the least, we have to drive to another state for the nearest Volvo dealership to get said trade-in fixed. A relatively minor repair (covered under warranty thankfully) but it has to be completed at the dealership. As I'm looking on the bright side I realize it's ...