Better After

I am in charge of 5 student workers. They all share an office, which is a pretty popular hang out spot. The storage room for my building is on a floor below the office so, as much as I hate it, we inevitably have to store some stuff in the office. Thankfully, we have these deep window sills where we can keep stuff.

We decided to keep the games there so my girls can have an easier access to them. I would, after all, prefer that they be used. And while I like having quick access to the games, I can't stand the way it looks when they're all just shoved there. It looks cluttered, and I hate clutter. My solution was to get baskets. I spent about two hours looking for the right baskets at two different craft stores.

They're not perfect, but I do like them. I got all three baskets on clearance at Michael's, which helped my indecisiveness. I also added the 'pray' sign just to add more visual interest to the space and to convey a not-so-subtle message. I think I might take the angel picture down and put something else there. We'll see. The office will always be a work in progress for as long as I'm working here.

PS, the yellow sign above the couch says, "Warning: This couch is where motivation comes to die." It's true.

Boulevard Nights

Living in a small town presents many challenges. One of the biggest is socializing. Huge challenge. I personally have found it extremely difficult to make friends outside of our very small group. Don't get me wrong, I have found a great group of friends. They are a true blessing in my life. But, I do like having a big community of people my age. I just can't find that here. So, multiple times a month, Nicole and I will drive the 1+ hour it takes to make it to the nearby city's young adults group. It's so fun and so worth the drive.

I love people's reactions when they find out that we drive an hour to get there. It's worth it to us and it's really not that bad. Since we live and work in the same place, we have no commute whereas most people have the average of 20 minute commute to and from work. An hour really isn't that bad to go hang out with a bunch of cool people.

One of our favorite events happens every other month. We all go to Mass as a group and then head over to a local brewery to socialize. Ten bucks gets you unlimited beer and some pizza. It's so fun and a very welcomed change to the everyday.

Jesus + Friends + Beer + Pizza + killer view of the city= a good life.

Small town life: waiting for the train

The small town where we live is in the heart of America. The town itself is industrial, but it's surrounded by farm lands. A friend who likes small towns, loves this town. Nicole and I on the other hand are not the town's biggest fans (except when they ask us to judge the Christmas parade). It's location is apparently prime for railroad action. It tried at one point long ago to be one of the major railroad hubs. It, unfortunately, failed. We still get plenty of train traffic that come through town every day (well, plenty for this Floridian). While there are ways around the train tracks, sometimes it's just inevitable for one to sit and wait for the train to go by. It's all part of our small town life. We may not love it, but we've accepted it.

To debt free and back again

Every post college student understands the pain and turmoil that suddenly hits you about a month after graduating when that first bill from SallieMae shows up in your mailbox and from that moment on you (if you’re anything like me) dream about the day when you’ll be able to stick it to the man and pay off that last bill. 

Okay, so maybe the rest of the world isn’t as consumed with paying off debt in the same obsessive way that I am. Experts advise us to pay off our debt as quickly as we can, little do they know the type of food I’ve been trying to live off of the last four years.

Either way, for the past several months I’ve been anticipating the glorious day when I would pull up my balance online and see a big goose egg staring back at me. I planned to celebrate big time, gathering with all my friends for a beer or two at my favorite Irish pub. It was coming soon too. At the rate I was paying out, I was expecting to be finished in June.

You can imagine my disappointment about a month ago I was rear ended on I-35 and while thankfully no one was hurt my poor little Accord had seen her last road trip, and there on the interstate amid rush hour traffic my dream of being debt free died. 

So the rearranging of finances began and so did the search for a car. After paying off my loans early, lots of stress, giving up my Easter break with family and what seemed like an endless few weeks without a car I am quite relieved to say that I purchased a new car. So here's to being debt free for three whole days only to go back into debt once again. Life has a funny way of keeping you humble. I am so blessed.  

                                                                                                              - Nicole