Survival and Graduation

After an extended hiatus from the blog, I have an important announcement to make. It doesn't feel quite right saying that I graduated (been there, done that, twice), so I'll say this instead: I SURVIVED grad school, and lived to tell the tale!!! Here is proof:

All of my biggest supporters came over to celebrate, and it was an absolutely perfect day. That time immediately following any sort of graduation is so precious, full of hope, excitement, and a sense that the world is your oyster.

My biggest supporter of all is my incredible husband, without whom I would have given up and thrown in the towel a long time ago.

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Three weeks after my "survival celebration", we went home to Montana to celebrate someone else's achievement.

My little brother, Trevor, is now a high school graduate (an honors graduate, at that, woot woot!)

With 2 out of 3 of my brothers.  Cody wasn't able to make it to Trevor's graduation because of work. **This is where we really need my mom and her expert photography skills to Photoshop him in, maybe peaking his head up in the background (because that's something he'd so do anyway).

Being back in Montana was a nice chance for Pat and I to reminisce about the memories of college, and the place where it all began, Montana State University.

So these, my friends, were the wonderful days that came and went. Days of perfect sunshine, cold drinks, and making memories of celebrating big achievements with those that mean the most to us. Pretty great way to start the summer.

I am, in fact, still alive!

Thesis deadline is a week from today, YIKES!!! One week from now, I will be ready to rejoin the land of the living. Anxiously awaiting my re-emergence into the real world. I'll keep you all posted. Thank you all for your patience and support! :)

On Hiatus

Sorry guys, but my life has become completely overtaken by this monster that some call a thesis. I don't have the time or energy to put toward the blog right now, so it's on hold for the time being.

Three months and counting until I return to the blog world....

New Year, New Possibilities

January is one of my favorite months. I love the new possibilities that come with a new year. I love the sense of being able to start over fresh. 2010 was one of the best and worst years of my life. Pat & I had some difficult struggles, most of which I'd rather not talk in depth about in this forum. (Those of you that know us well are familiar with the medical problems and family issues that we were faced with this year.) But we've also had some incredibly wonderful times together, as individuals and as a couple. We were blessed to travel a ton this year (Disneyland, Vegas, Montana, New York), we survived a difficult year of stress and struggles that come with graduate school, Pat got a much-deserved promotion and raise at work, and we kicked off the end of 2010 with a whirlwind 2 weeks of seeing both sides of our family in New York and then Montana, and celebrated the end of 2010 with some great friends.

I have a feeling 2011 will be a better year for us. There are so many new possibilities ahead. I will graduate in May, we will be traveling to Montana in June to celebrate my little brother's high school graduation, followed by a much-deserved week of relaxation in the Caribbean. 2011 is full of promise for our little family of 2, and I can't wait to see what this year holds.



Cheers to the New Year! We sincerely hope your lives are as blessed as ours.

I'm Embarassed

I have been a bad girl lately. A VERY bad girl. Every ounce of my energy is going into the million other things going on in my life right now (traveling, holidays, school, work, internship, THESIS), so the blog has taken a backseat. As soon as this week is over, I'll be coming up for air, and hopefully doing some much-needed updating. Hang in there with me.

Much love and holiday greetings to everyone!

Fall in Pictures

Every ounce of writing energy I have is going toward the first 2 chapters of my thesis, so you all are going to have to put up with a post of mostly pictures.

Labor Day Weekend in Ventura & Santa Barbara:

{Crushcakes in Santa Barbara=best cupcakes EVER!}

The late summer wedding of our friends Robyn & Phil:

The Montana State vs. Sac State football game (In case there is ever any confusion among our friends and family, my loyalty will always be with Montana State above Sac State. Go Cats!):

{Tailgating}

And last, but not least, a weekend trip to Montana to watch my little brothers play football:

Ty (the younger of the two)

Trev & I. His team is undefeated right now. :)

Nothing says fall like a little Friday night high school football. Oh, and windstorms and terrential downpours if you live in Sacramento.

This post ought to tide you over for awhile, right? I can't promise I'll be back to blogging in full force anytime soon, but I'll at least check in once in awhile.

Stay Tuned

If there are still any loyal readers out there (Mike, I know you read this, you may be the only one these days), please don't abandon me. I am a terrible blogger lately because this little thing called my thesis has completely taken over my life. I still have some pics to post from Labor Day weekend (I know it's been a month, so sue me), as well as from the Sac State-MSU football game this past weekend. I will try to make time to get to it on Sunday, so please be patient with me.