To Rifle

Josh and I were just finishing with dinner when there was a knock on the door. It was Jesus, one of Josh's coworkers. He told us that there was work in Rifle and that Josh would need to be there the next day if he wanted the job. Josh and I agreed to go. Why not? How can you turn down a job?!

Turns out that Josh was one of just a few guys that they picked for this project because his bosses really like him. That's always good!

So Josh left the next morning and I started packing up our little hotel room. I put most of our things in storage and only brought what we would need for the next two weeks. 

I wasn't too excited about driving over the Mountain and through the Tunnel again (it's steep and it's always snowing up there), but this time I was doing it with just my X-Terra so I knew it wasn't going to be a scary as the move out here.

I arrived in Rifle and found us a cute, long-term-stay hotel to stay in. It's expensive, but Josh got a perdiem raise so I was able to justify spending the extra money. Plus, the place has a full kitchen with a DISH WASHER, a washer and dryer IN THE UNIT, a queen sized bed in a separate room (so Josh can go to bed early), a big closet, AND cable and high speed internet! Sold! 

[Kitchen]

[Bathroom] 

[Bedroom] 

[Nice closet] 

[Washer and Dryer] 

[Kitchen]

[Living room with another bed/couch] 

I told Josh that I wanted a romantic weekend in the Mountains before we left Colorado, so I guess this will have to do for now!

Pack Attack!

This is where Josh and I will be on December 23rd:

That's right! We are going to the Packers vs Titans game at Lambeau Field! It is our Christmas present to each other and we are both really excited... Josh more then me due to the fact that I don't want to freeze to death! Eek!

I'm secretly hoping that next Christmas we can get Lakers tickets! Do you think Josh will go for that?! : )

Living in a Hotel

Josh and I have been living in a hotel since I moved to Colorado. The town we live in is SMALL and the only apartments are for low income families and the elderly, so that forces us to either find a house to rent or to live in a hotel. I've been looking for a house to rent but they are either too expensive or they want a long-term contract (that is just something we can't do with the unpredictability of Josh's job). As a result we have been living in a little motel for the last couple of months. It's been... okay. The room is small, but it has a kitchen which has been nice because I love to (and want to) cook. We can't fit all of our things in this little room so we are also renting a small storage unit. We are hoping to  move to a larger city in January, but we will see. Until then, this is our home:

[Main Room/Bedroom/Living Room/Family Room]

 [We couldn't live without our TV!]

[The Kitchen]

[The Second Bedroom (which we use as my closet and for storage)]

The owner has been taking advantage of us being there (rent is EXPENSIVE) by doing some renovations. He has recently painted the outside of the hotel and got the roof repaired. While the men were on the roof fixing it they dropped a large case of shingles which caused the ceiling in our room to break off and come crashing down. It was a HUGE mess and I was really upset about it. Luckily, nothing of mine was broken.

 

So that is our home for now! I try really hard to keep things clean and organized but it just ends up looking cluttered. Ugh. Hopefully, we can get out of here and into a nice apartment within the next few months. I really miss having a full sized kitchen and my Direct TV. 

Thanksgiving in Omaha

Josh and I went to Omaha to spend Thanksgiving with my brother, Ryan, and his cute family. I was excited to hang out with my family and to see my adorable nephew, Brady. 

We had a great time eating, playing video games, decorating the house for Christmas, Skypeing with my parents, going out to dinner, and attempting to take family pictures in the cold (it was FREEZING!)

[Ryan and Josh putting up lights, Missy is supervising]

[Christmas Tree]

[Missy and Ryan were really excited about their first Christmas Tree]

[Brady and Me]

[Taking family pictures was a little hard when the baby was freezing and the wind was blowing]

 

[We had cute matching outfits on but there was no way I was going to take my jacket off]

[Happy Brady in the warm car]

Thanks to Ryan, Missy, and Brady for having us over for Thanksgiving! We had a great time!

Eating Healthy

Josh and I (well, more me, Josh is just along for the ride) are really trying to eat more healthy. I have a bunch of Weight Watchers cookbooks that I have been going through to find some great recipes for us. Some of our favorites have been Breakfast (consisting of whole wheat pancakes, soy sausage, and turkey bacon), Turkey Burgers, Spicy Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry, Sicilian Sausage-Stuffed Pizza, Almond-Crusted Tilapia, Spicy Green Curry-Cilantro Shrimp, Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts, "Skinny Chimys" (Skinny Chimichangas), Spaghetti and Meatballs, Creamy Garlic Shrimp and Pasta, Tacos, and Flatbread Pizza. I've also found some fun dessert and appetizers recipes that I've been trying out. 

Breakfast (whole wheat pancakes, soy sausage, and turkey bacon)

 Crispy Italian Wontons

My cousin, Cheryl, has been talking about Green Smoothie (they are all the rage!) forever and recently Missy, my sister-in-law, introduced me to an EASY (frozen banana, peanut butter, milk, and spinach) Green Smoothie and I usually have one every other day.

Eating healthy can be hard and requires a lot of planning but I like how I feel after eating a healthy meal!

Yep, my dad was right!

Like most students, I had a hard time deciding on a major in college. I went back and forth, up and down, and all around to find something that was perfect for me. After hitting a dead end I called my dad for advice. He told me, "Find something you are good at and then get someone to pay you to do it." Good advice, right? So if I would have taken his advice I would have chosen a major with a strong science or math background. Instead I interpreted his advice to mean "Find something you love and then get someone to pay you to do it." So, I made a list. I listed out everything that I loved and I came to the conclusion that I should major in Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology.

In one of my first Archaeology classes my Professor listed out the cost of being an Archaeologist. That day I learned that if I wanted to get a Bachelors, a Masters, and a PhD in Archaeology then I would most likely be in school for 14 years and I would never pay off my student loans. Bottom line: the money just wasn't there. Did I care?! Hell no! I still wanted it. I still wanted to be an Archaeologist. I think at that point I had the typical "BYU mentality": I would get married and my husband would take care of me. So, why would I need to make money? I could just go out on digs and do the fun archaeology thing and then my husband would take care of everything else. I saw the romantic-Indiana Jones-side of archaeology and I wanted it!

So, I graduated and got a job on an excavation in St George. It was an amazing dig and a lot of fun. I was making $10/hour with no perdiem (they did pay for our food and housing though). Sure it wasn't a lot of money but the experience was amazing!

After that excavation ended I got a typical job in the Cultural Resource Management (CRM) side of archaeology. The work was hard. We worked 10-day-sessions (10 days on and 4 off) in Nevada, my supervisor was a horrible person, we hiked ~13 miles a day, we were stuck in crapy hotels in the middle of nowhere, I was making $13/hour, and I was paying rent at a place in SLC and I was only there 8 days a month. It was then that I realized that archaeology may not have been a great choice. But I kept convincing myself that I just didn't like it because my supervisor was so horrible. Maybe the next job would be better.

The next job I got was similar to the last. I was gone a lot, I was worked into the ground, and the money wasn't great ($16/hour). As a single woman living in Utah it was fine. I could provide for myself and work kept me busy but this wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to be married. I wanted to have a family. I wanted to work and be at home every night. I wanted to go on excavations and adventures. I was sick of hiking. I was so tired. My body was hurting. My knee was busted and my back hurt.

CRM isn't the archaeology that I was wanting/expecting. It's not like my experiences where unique. This is how all CRM firms are. I just didn't know that going into it. I didn't know that I would most likely not be able to get married and have a family if I stayed in this line of work. How am I supposed to have kids when I am gone all the time and hiking all day?! And it's not like I could provide for a family on my salary anyways.

In the end I've realized that the best people for CRM work are single men, who want to stay single, who have another source of income (trust fund baby), and who want to do this because they love it.

I figured that my time as an Archaeologist was coming to an end when I fell in love with Josh. I cried when I had to leave him for a long period of time and I cried when I called home to say hi and I could hear Josh playing with Brodee in the background. It broke my heart. I missed my family. What was the point in having a family if you are never around to see them?

So, if I can give any advice it would be my dad's advice: Find something you are good at and then get someone to pay you to do it. I made what I loved (history and people) my career and then I ended up hated it. AND I was poor. It wasn't worth it. I wish I had known that in college. So, if you know anyone who is considering a career in Anthropology or Archaeology send them my way and I will set them straight.

**The reason I wrote this post was because my friend posted this article from Forbes on Facebook. Check it out. My major is number 1. Eek!

Denver Botanical Gardens

Sundays around here are usually consists of Josh and I laying around the house watching American Football. Since we are in Bronco Country we very rarely get to see our teams (Packers and Chargers) play unless they are playing the Broncos or are playing on Sunday night. Yesterday, the Packers game wasn't playing on our local TV and the Chargers were playing the night game, so Josh and I decided to go to Denver for the day.

Thanks to Groupon, I got 2 for 1 tickets at the Denver Botanical Gardens.

The gardens we beautiful (nothing compared to Butchart Gardens, of course) and the weather was perfect. It was fun to just stroll around and take pictures!

After exploring the Gardens, we headed to CPK for lunch since Josh was craving a Habanero Carnitas Pizza... go figure ; )