Oh Baby, Oh Baby

Such a lot has happened since I graduated from Humboldt State in May! Life hasn't exactly been going according to plan, well, at least not according to my plan. But does it ever really? I thought that after graduation I'd be a shoe-in for some environmental company or department somewhere in the area, but my ideas of what life has in store for me must have been completely off. I've spent my time *complaining* enough about not having a job by now and I am on to bigger and better things.

First of all, let's get on with the big news that most of you already know by now....Oh, baby, we're having a baby!!!! Yup, not exactly the "get a job first, then have a baby" plan that we were aiming for. But honestly, we couldn't be happier and the timing actually seems pretty perfect right about now. I am currently 16 weeks and 4 days pregnant and loving every second of it. I've been very luck so far "cross fingers" because I've had it pretty easy. No morning sickness, no major fatigue, no food aversions (or at least none that have stuck!). Honestly, most days I don't even feel pregnant except for my slowly growing belly and pants that won't close anymore. This week at our Dr.'s appointment it really struck me that I was pregnant when we got to see out tiny peanut kicking it's chubby little legs all over the place. And considering that my tummy actually feels more like there's a baby in there and less like I've eaten too many corn dogs in the last few months, I'd say this is the start of realizing that, yes, I'm pregnant! Of course for Mike it's a little different, and overwhelming. He can't feel what I feel, so he is going to have to find other ways to realize that we're actually having a baby. He swears that it's a girl, but lately has been having cold feet....especially when I tell him that he is going to feel dumb if it's a boy. LOL. The Dr. tried to see if the baby was a boy or girl at our last appointment, but considering that I am only 16 weeks it was too hard to tell. After seeing the ultrasound however, I actually think it's a girl now. I had a sneaking suspicion before that it was a boy, but after seeing that image on the ultrasound I've changed my mind. we will find out with some degree of certainty on January 11th (unless I can weasel my way in for an earlier ultrasound), so I guess until then we wait!!!!

On other notes, considering that my life has taken a detour from my original plan, I've decided to challenge myself with some new goals. Since I have quite a bit of time on my hands, and I am currently a stay-at-home mommy-to-be, I see this time in our lives as a perfect opportunity to do what we have always talked about. BE GREEN! We have always thought that to be green we had to have money, considering that the coolest eco-clothes and organic food is usually the most expensive. But I a challenging myself to make our life a healthy, natural, and affordable one. I truly beleive that we can be green and frugal at the same time. So here goes my journey to being green, some might say that it is the road to sustainability. I see it as a challenge!!!

Along with my new enviro-goals, I've also decided to start up another blog so that anyone who so desires can follow our road to greenification. I've also started writing a book, the topic is somewhat ify...it could go two ways. But I've written one paragraph and I think it's pretty dang good! I figure I have to do something with my time, and making list of baby stuff and walking the dog just isn't fulfilling my goals anymore! Blogs, books, green challenges.... sounds like a pretty good life to me!

Stay tuned for more!

<3

I'm a Master....Graduation from Graduate School!

Long time no post! Hola! I am so very excited because this weekend I graduate from my Environment and Community program at Humboldt State University! I did it! My rather lengthy thesis has been edited, formatted, read, re-edited, re-formatted, copied, sent in, and accepted! Along with the thesis, the dreaded signature page (which was sent to Washington D.C., back to Sac, driven to Humboldt, and then sent again back to D.C., and then back to Humboldt) has safely arrived at it's destination in the graduate studies office with some minor changes and the same old signatures! I am so happy to finally be finished with this massive thesis, but also sad because it's all over. Mike and I moved so quickly from Humboldt that I feel like I missed out on my last semester of enjoying the beach, plaza, old-town Eureka, and redwoods. Although our move back to Sac and the job that was responsible for it was definitely a blessing, I still miss and sometimes ache for Humboldt. I keep thinking about the field trip that I took to Orleans to visit local farms. During that field trip I dipped my feet into one of the most beautiful parts of the Trinity river. Reminiscing on the last two years makes me happy, but I am also glad to have moved on, glad to have found my way back to myself again, glad to have grown into the strong, confident woman I am today. I am not boasting, just simply rejoicing in the fact that the last two years have put me and Mike through many trials, and we have emerged as stronger individuals and a stronger couple. Maybe I will finally get that career, maybe I'll go for my PhD at Santa Cruz, maybe we'll have babies. Who knows where we will be in two more years? Rumor has it that once you have touched the waters of the Trinity river you will find your way back sometime later in your life. Maybe that trip to Orleans was fate.

Heartache and Daydreams

Don't get scared, my blog posting will not be as prophetic as the title of my blog. I was checking out houses on metrolist (a housing list serve for the Sacramento area). This has become my favorite thing to do on my spare time, even though Mike and I know we won't be buying a house for at least 3 years (which seems like forever to me)! I get so excited looking at all these pictures of our potential houses, but it also makes me a little sad that we are here right now and now in my home! We are trying to enjoy our experience here, I mean Humboldt has so many amazing outdoor activites! And I know when we look back on our time here we will remember all the fun we had and the beauty we saw, but right now I am thinking about those picnics on the American River, jetskiing on Folsom Lake, eating lunch downtown, jumping on light rail, driving through the Fab 40's, riding our bikes through the city of trees in the sunlight, and simply enjoying the valley, the warmth. But most of all, I miss the comfort of my hometown. Of course the people are importnant, family and friends make it my home, but the atmosphere the area also holds a spot in my heart. I have dreams of owning a house under the tree-laden streets of Sac, wokring downtown and meeting co-workers for lunch, raising my kids in an area where parks, rivers, and trader joe's are abundant. I have visions of my children playing in the backyard on a warm sunny morning, kissing my love under the arches of the capital as we did once before, delighting in the simple pleasure that is good weather and sunshine.... Sacramento air. Mike and I know what we want, and we realize it might not all be possible. But then again, we can dream. We want a green lifestlye complete with cloth diapers and organic local food. We want nice things that will last us years, we want the joy of creating memories in an area where we can excel in our careers, families, friendships. I tend to think too far in the future, and maybe that makes me miss the wonderful things of the present. I am trying to live in the moment so that I enjoy the beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis, but I will never stop dreaming. Dreaming of our future solidifies what we want as a couple, who we want to be, and what our future will hold.

We will make our future... we can have whatever we cant.... as long as we make it happen. Let's make it happen.

A New Beginning

It is the middle of a beautifully warm summer here in Sacramento, CA. Along with long walks to the river, cool crisp water to swim in, delicious local places to eat, farmers markets, and friends and family visits our summer months have been packed with new experiences for us both. Wow. 8 months from my last blog and look at all that has happened. Mike and I got married at the Newcastle Wedding Gardens on June 7, 2009 and went on an adventurous honeymoon to Costa Rica! We have had a wonderful first month being married and are now preparing to embark on a journey to Pullman, WA for graduate school. I will be attending WSU and obtaining my Masters in Eartha and Environmental Science while working as a TA for a Geology class. Mike will be working and supporting our little life in Pullman. We hope to only be there for 2 years or a little less, and then we plan on moving back to California or to the Coast somewhere on the Pacific side. We found a great little apartment with a terrific view of the Palouse (a very fertile and hilly area mostly accompanied by wheat crops), and we're hoping to get a Kitty and possibly Puppy as soon as we settle in a bit.

I'm hoping that we can keep up on this blog and post some pictures describing our adventures in Pullman and our first years of marriage!

More wedding pictures to come!

Welcome to my life...

The weather has turned cold and crisp, and with the change of weather I have had a change of heart. I have decided to return to my long lost love of photography (and no, not just pictures of myself), and grace this blog with photos of my life and my horrible attempt at writing. I desire to capture the emotions of the world, and the feelings that come with amazing colors and shapes. Even the most simplest of things can be beautiful. It is a season of change. I've recently found my life in a "life-altering" direction. Micheal and I are engaged, and hopefully getting married in June of 2009...yes...this June. Our wedding is not the only turn of events in our lives however. I have also made the big decision to apply to graduate schools up and down the Pacific northwest coast, and am hoping to be accepted into an environmental science program for the fall 2009 semester. This means that along with a wonderful wedding, we also may be moving to a completely new town, and I may be starting a graduate program in the months to follow. I hope you enjoy my wedding planning adventures, along with the rollercoaster that will be my life for the next year or so. ~ Enjoy ~