My Birthday and Big News

Well, another year has come and gone. And what an eventful year it has been! 

Moving from Utah to Colorado, Josh making operator, spending Thanksgiving with my family in Omaha, going to a Packers game at Lambeau Field, going back to Colorado just to learn that Josh got a job in North Dakota, packing up and moving north, dealing with living in an RV in the middle of the winter, celebrating our 2 year anniversary, Luke coming home from his mission, going on an epic Spring Thaw Trip, the Neilson Family Kauai Trip, going on a doors-off helicopter ride in Hawaii, Suzi and Clay getting engaged, Phew! That's a lot! AND This last year I was able to knock 9 things off of my 30 Before 30 list. I think that's pretty good!

My birthday this year was nice and simple. I got cards, text messages, Facebook messages, and phone calls from my family and friends. I got Kindle books from Suzi, Clay, and Charles; Ryan, Missy, Luke, and Brady; and Jessi and Ally. My parents got me a Disneyland pass (actually purchased in March so I could go to Disneyland with Luke when he got home from his mission). My Aunt Lisa sent me a dinosaur card and a cute California bag. And Josh got me a food chopper, a bottle of my FAVORITE perfume, and a book by Phil Jackson (now we just need to hunt him down so he can sign it!). AND my nephew Brady sent me (with help from Missy) a cute video of him wishing me a happy birthday!

Josh and I celebrated by staying in and having another homemade sushi night. Since the last one was such a success we decided to try something new: using tempura.

[Battering]

[Dipping]  

  

[Eating!]

The tempura was a huge success! I even bought some cream cheese so we could make our own Las Vegas rolls! YUM!

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! I struggle with my birthday so I really do appreciate the love!

And now onto the big news....

Drum roll please!

.....

WE ARE MOVING!

Yep! As of right now* we are moving to (or close to) South Bend, Indiana for Josh's next pipeline job!

In the next month we are hoping to be done with work on this job in ND, take the RV back to Uncle Shorty in Wisconsin, buy a Fifth Wheel, move to Indiana, and then start the new job. 

I am actually really excited/nervous/stressed/excited again! I have never lived in the Eastern Time Zone before and I am so excited to see Chicago! And, most importantly, I am so glad to get out of ND before the winter comes! I am stressed out about buying a Fifth Wheel though. Those things aren't cheap (well, the nice ones aren't). But if you are in the pipeline business this is definitely the way to go. It'll save you a lot of money and heartache in the future. Wish us luck and I'll keep you all posted on our progress!

*subject to change .... things are always unpredictable in the pipeline world

**UPDATE: We are moving to Valparaiso, IN now. And that city is not in the Eastern Time Zone. Bummer. But it's okay because it's a college town that is only an hour from Chicago.

I Need to Chill

I like to learn. I like to know things. I like to know what is going on. I like to appear intelligent (because we all know I'm really not).

If I could, I would go to school for the rest of my life. Not for grades, but to gain knowledge.

As a result, I have been obsessing about Graduate School and getting my Masters ever since I graduated from BYU with my Bachelors in 2007. The problem was there are just too many options! Should I go back into Archaeology? No. Should I do something new? Information Systems? Health Care? Education? Business?

I had a really hard time picking a major in college because I wanted to do so many things. Everything interested me. I couldn't narrow it down! I went from Chemistry to Pre-Med to Humanities to yada, yada, yada, and then finally landed on Anthropology. It was hard for me to settle on a major and even after I picked Anthropology I wanted to change it again.

When I was in Elementary, Middle, and High School we took a lot of those aptitude/career choice test. I always scored really high in math and science and was told that I should pursue a career in those subjects. I wanted to! I really did! Even though I loved math and science I also loved history, art, psychology, archaeology, and humanities.

I was torn and I still am. That's partially why I chose to major in Anthropology, it has a little bit of everything.

After doing a lot of research, talking to my family (mostly my dad and my uncle), and pondering, I have decided I just need to continue to learn, but without a Masters degree.

Maybe it is something that I can do later. It's just not the right time. Getting a Masters in a different field (then the one I've worked in and graduated with my Bachelors in) through an online program (I can't go to a campus when I move around so much) is just not a good decision. I really wish it was a good decision. I really wish it was the right move. I have a lot of down-time right now. BUT I need to chill and take a break.

It's hard. This is a very hard decision for me. I want a higher education. I want to earn a Masters. I want to work hard. I want to show that I can do it. I want to feel like I contribute to society! I want to be important! I want to do great things! I want to prove to all of you that I can do it! I just want an ounce of respect! I want people to stop rolling their eyes at me and giving me nasty looks when I tell them I'm a stay-at-home girlfriend. I'm not a dead beat moocher (even though I feel like it sometimes).

Even though I am not going to attend Grad School right now, I am going to continue to learn. I am going to try to take classes at a local college when I can, but when I can't I'm going to read and do research. I'm good at that. I did a lot of reading, researching, and writing while I was in college. The Anthropology major does not have many test. I don't think I took a single test my last two years at BYU. I did write 4-5 papers (5-20 pages/each) a week though.

A few days ago I was feeling down so I went shopping and bought some books about small business, bookkeeping, accounting, home buying, investing, and finances. 

I think I am going to start here and once I finish these books I am going to move onto another subject that I am not completely familiar with. Maybe computers, or cars! I do really need to brush up on my math and science skills too. Oh there is so much to do!