It's all about the climb...

Picking up your life and moving to a completely new area can bring about a myriad of emotions in both good and bad ways, and leave you with a mysterious/hazy view of your future. Two nights before picking up and moving here for J to start medical school, I was cuddled up in bed with Grizz around, and J was..well I'm not quite sure, but he wasn't with me at this moment. This song came on TV (and yes, I may get made fun for feeling this way from this song being that it's Miley Cyrus, but..whatever! haha) I heard these lyrics..

Every step I'm takin'
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction,
My faith is shakin'
But I gotta keep tryin'
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down, but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it, but
These are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most
I've just gotta keep goin', and
I gotta be strong

Keep on movin'
Keep climbin'
Keep the faith baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb

And I thought, "Ahhh, this is such a nerve-racking moment in our lives..I have no idea what it will be like to live in another state.. What am I going to do for a job? How easy will it be to make all new friends? How is it going to be living this far from family? How busy will J really be? Will I ever see him? We have to plan a whole wedding right now..ahh, please just let everything turn out well!"



Well folks, we got lucky! I got a job the first week we moved here, J worked out a schedule where he'd get to school around 6 am so he could get home around 6:30pm and we could eat dinner together every night, I've been able to visit family every couple months, the wedding turned out beautifully, and well, we made some AMAZING friends along the way!



I had no idea what types of people we would meet, and while all of our friends come from different areas and different backgrounds and have different accents that I may or may not try to imitate at times ;), we've become such a tight-knit circle of friends that I greatly enjoy being around! So when I heard that same song the other night, The Climb, the exact same feelings came pouring back..except they hit me even harder.



After making these wonderful friends and growing closer and closer, I realized we only have 2 months left with most of them, and then we'll be picking everything up to start the cycle over again. The friends we've made together as a couple, and the wives who have become such an incredible support group, will probably be the most missed memory of the time we've had here in the Atlanta area. Cue the sad gloomy music..haha ;)




Carly and Brian met a group of doctors and their families while vacationing at the beach..and they told them they've made it a point since med school to meet at the beach and pick right back up where they left off every year. Oh how we would love for that to happen!!




In our nearly 2 years of living here, we've built memories that will last a lifetime. Alongside our friends, we've had fun nights, drunk nights, stressful test weeks, wives leaning on each other when feeling somewhat lonely, Just Dance nights, nights we'll always remember, and nights that some just want to forget ..(drunk Yogi Bear talks, men staying up late together to watch House Hunters, TMI talks, etc.) We've thrown bridal showers for each other, and even had friends travel the 10 hours to South Florida to watch us exchange vows and celebrate with us...





We've traveled to watch others exchange vows and celebrate with them...



And even stayed put to watch friends exchange vows right here...


We've watched little ones grow up..and bellies grow, too.



Got to witness a bromance bloom from the beginning ;) ...


We've even danced our butts off together plenty of times..


and made fools of ourselves too...


Carly and I spontaneously decided to grab some frozen yogurt last night. While the sun was setting, we took a seat on the grass to discuss just how much we will miss these moments.

Yup, we've all had some pretty amazing times together....
and while I may not know it,
these are the moments I'm gonna remember most,
yea, just gotta keep going...
it's all about the climb!

spring forward with a spring mantel

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It may not 'officially' be spring yet...but we sprung forward last night so that counts for me! While some complained about springing forward, I have been waiting for this day for a little while now. I don't look at it like I lost an hour of sleep, because well, I don't have kids to wake me up and I don't work on Sundays - so, I just slept an hour longer! Not to rub it in for some of you ;) But seriously, I LOVE when it stays lighter later. No more coming home from work, rushing to make dinner, and feeling like it's almost bed time already. Now, I'll leave work while the sun is still shining and have time to make dinner and still take the pup to the park after to enjoy a walk with my little family. Oh, how I've been looking forward to this!

While J spent the weekend studying, I spent the weekend crafting. The neighbors might possibly dislike me after the smell and fumes of spray paint lurked in the backyard area all weekend. I went through a few bottles... but the outcome was worth it to me :) A 100% DIY mantel..it kills time for me and then I get to enjoy the beauty of it all afterwards.





Just about everything was handmade using items I already had laying around in the garage. It's amazing what a little paint and fabric can do!




Now for the important stuff:

The empty big frame above the mantel was an ugly ol' picture I found while helping my brother move. I *kindly* talked him into giving it to me ;) I removed the backing, took everything out of it, and pulled out the staples holding the picture in place. Then, just spray painted.


To make the yellow bottles: drink some beer, clean out the bottles, and spray paint! I also spray painted the sticks to put in them.


To make the 'cake pedestal,' I purchased a small Terracotta planter and plant base, spray painted them, and attached using e6000 glue. (Place the Terracotta planter upside-down) This was a total of $4.


For the Easter/spring wreath, follow the same directions from the Christmas Wreath Tutorial. Only, instead of yarn, I wrapped the wreath with fabric. I made the same flower types as in that tutorial and hung from the frame with a strip of fabric.


The spring banner was made using fabric and felt cut into triangles and clothes-pinned onto jute twine.

If you're interested in making burlap balls, I simply crushed up a piece of computer paper, and wrapped 1 1/2" wide strips of burlap around them using hot glue until it was covered.

The apothecary jar was made back in October (follow this tutorial) and I just lightly painted yellow over the black. Looks messy but I'm okay with it! It's filled with mini Robin eggs.

For the frame with the starfish, I spray painted an old frame we had (Hospice Thrift Store special courtesy of Grandma), put a piece of scrapbook paper in it and hot glued one of the starfish from our wedding on it.


Spray paint colors used: Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze, Krylon Bright Idea, and Krylon Satin Jade.

The total I spent this weekend at Hobby Lobby was a whopping $17 for all of this (excluding items I already had).

Clearly, we are readyyy for spring around here and I will be lovin' these bright evenings :) The windows are open, and we are making our way out more and more. Make room for spring, everyone!

the things we do for our 4-legged babies...

Who knew I could love a puppy so much? We always look at him and talk about how awesome he is and the way he completes our little family. The past 4 1/2 years just wouldn't be the same without him. The memories, the comfort, and all the fun times -- Grizz makes them complete! Sappy, I know, but gosh -- we love him!



Today, Grizz officially destroyed one of his favorite toys. There are the toys we buy that he destroys within 24 hours, and those ones come and go like we never even knew they existed. But then there are the toys that have managed to make their way into luggages and travel with us through each move we've made and settle in to become a part of our home. Grizz loves those toys. Think Andy & his Toy Story pals.



This one in particular - it's been with us through moves, vacations, and even boarding days. But now, that toy is a goner! J decided that that one must be thrown out. And well, we treat our boy like a real boy.. we didn't want him to see us throw it out..haha...so we didn't. But then he was running around looking for it like no other. Sad story, huh? We tried throwing other toys for him, but in that moment, he only wanted that one toy. "Sorry buddy, we'll get ya another one later!"



I went to pick up some dinner for us and J reminded me to get him a new toy as promised. I went to head into Pet Smart and they were closed! Grizz was in the backseat and I felt like it was a child going to Toys R Us, but oh no, they're not open! Target was right next door. I took one look at myself and thought, "Oh crap! I'm wearing plaid flannel pajama pants and slippers and my hair is soaking wet. Am I really going into Target looking like this for a dog toy?"

Yup, I did. I walked into Target thinking it'd be one quick trip. Of course, the dog section had to be in the opposite corner of the store. I walked my happy butt back there, got multiple blank stares by men working there, debated about which toy to get pup, and walked back to the front. Crap..only 2 lanes open with long lines. I waited. And of course, there was a problem with the customer in front of me and they had to call for backup. In the meantime, she rang me up. And this lady waiting for help to come for her purchase started staring me up and down. Her eyes glued to my pants, then slowly gazed up to see the rest of my super cool wardrobe, then glanced over at my one dog toy item and looked back at me. I could tell as her eyes rolled a little that all she was thinking was, "Did this girl really come to Target wearing that just to get this one damn dog toy?"



Yup, I did! Just for pup. I knew it was ridiculous the entire time, but it didn't stop me one bit. Oh Grizz, you best thank yo momma. I got home, filled that toy with peanut butter and treats, and we had one happy boy. He loves us :)



Unfortunately, contrary to what I thought in the store, this toy may be one of those 24 hour things. But he puts up with lots of crap from us and keeps me feeling secure while we both miss his daddy. His companionship and protection makes all the things we do for our 4-legged baby so worth it :)

the sad/funny truth

When you're a med student, it's hard to be anything else. But oh, you're supposed to be a husband, puppy daddy, son, brother, AND a friend. Not too many of us get much of my husband's attention -- it's pretty much his books and his school buddies who study around him that get the most of him. But I do think that pup and I get the best of him when he's home and relaxed...and we like it that way! But when he gets the chance to catch up with those that really matter to him, he feels like it's been ages. He probably feels out of the loop. And he doesn't have a Facebook account (because he thinks it's a bunch of crap and doesn't want it to consume his time). That, and he'd rather learn news about people by actually talking to them instead of stalking them. I guess we could all learn a two or thing from him!

He finally caught up with a good friend last weekend when we were in Savannah. He was a happy, happy man with a drink in his hand while catching up with an old friend. A friend who, as a matter of fact, just got a brand new car when they spoke, and was expecting a brand new baby 2 days later. Such exciting news. I then heard J congratulate him and go on to talk about what he's been doing..ya know, a whole lotta library livin' and test takin'...what what! But heckkk, we were in Savannah that weekend. So actually, he was pretty cool that moment. He wasn't in the library, he wasn't taking a test, and he wasn't sleeping. We were sittin' pretty!



So when I ran across this..I couldn't help but laugh. It is oh so true.



And we knew things would be like that. Before we even moved, we expected it. He reminded me about how much we'd hear on that craptastic social networking site about friends buying houses, going on awesome vacations, getting promotions and makin' that money honey. That we'd see everyone else doing big things before us. And that we can't let it get to us. So, we're not!

We're really not. Because I'm happy with where we are. I'm content, and ready for the next phase of our journey. Like I said before, I'm loving all the exciting news I see from others, because everyone deserves to be happy and content with where they are in life. And as much as the sad yet funny truth that he doesn't catch up with friends nearly as much as he wishes stinks, he knows that what he's doing will eventually* pay off in the long run for his little family, and more importantly, he will be happy with what he's doing in life because he'll know how hard he worked for it.

*10+ years

the sad/funny truth of going to a private med school