Life Changes in the Blink of an Eye

I haven't made an updated blog entry for a while because I haven't really had many events to blog about. However, when I thought about it, there are a few things that have changed since the last entry, proving that life can change so fast without me even realizing it.

But first, I want to remind everyone that no matter how much experience you have with something (like cooking in the kitchen), something unexpected is inevitably lurking around the corner!

And we just gotta learn to laugh with it all!

One major life-changing occurrence is that I decided that I am going to go back to school and get my Masters Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. I'm planning on starting the Fall semester of 2010. I didn't go on right after I graduated because of personal reasons, but I have thought about it several times since. The timing with Mark's schooling and how long it would take me to finish has been a major deterrent for me to go back to school. Especially because we didn't want to take out so much in student loan debt, we felt that I needed to be working full-time while Mark is in school. The other major issue has been the idea of me being a working mom. For so long, thanks to the expectations prevalent in the LDS culture, I've really had a hard time imagining myself to be happy with a career. I didn't want to spend the time and money on tuition for a masters if I wasn't going to be using the degree for an extended period of time. However, with the economy crash and the poor job market, Mark and I have come to the conclusion that he may have to settle for a job that will not pay as much as we planned. It will just be best for us to have the option for me to work to help with the family income. If I will need to be working anyway, then I would rather do something that I actually love to do. Besides, this will most likely be a much more flexible career than being an administrative assistant.

Just think, this could be in my future, not just my past!

With this newly re-formed goal of mine to continue school, I feel like I have direction and purpose in my life again. I mean, honestly, my really slow and boring days at work have been put to good use studying for the GRE. (Therefore, my days go by faster; I feel productive; and I'm actually happier at work. I've been given two new associates to support, but they haven't really increased my work-load very much. At least there's a higher potential for a full work day!) I plan to take the GRE sometime this summer so that I can get all my application materials put together by the end of Fall 2009. Granted, Fall 2010 is still quite far away, and there's always a chance that I will let something keep me from going back to school (like what has already happened a few times in the past 4 years), but it's never a bad thing to be prepared. The application process and everything will take me a long time, and I can always NOT GO if I've been accepted, but I can't GO if I haven't gotten into a program. The hard part is figuring out where to apply when I don't know where Mark can get a job during the time I'm in school.

Another part in this decision is considering the timing of having children. It's no secret that I've been wanting to start our family, especially with this baby fever I've had off and on for...oh... 3 years now! There are lots of details to be worked out in this area, so there are no announcements to be made about this... but at least we're in the planning mode. We're to the point of where we know when would be "the perfect" time, but of course there are no guarantees. God has a way to really mess up our plans when we didn't realize there was a better option. I guess we'll just have to leave it up to Him and pray that we can handle it, right?

I wouldn't mind making more outfits like this one for my own children. (This is the one I made for Christina Snyder's little boy, Christian William Snyder.)

Another thing that's been a bit life-altering, although not as life-changing as the aforementioned topic, is that Mark is looking into internship positions at District Attorneys' Offices and other state government legal areas. So far he's had a few interviews, and these positions seem to be a bit more promising than the firm job openings from earlier this school year. These positions, however, are unpaid or very low-paying jobs, so Mark will not really be able to count on making money this summer. He's accepted a position to work for the Cape and Islands District Court which is over an hour's drive away, but it will give him a lot of really good experience. He's hoping to be able to find another position a little closer so that he won't have to commute so far, but that he'll be able to get 2 experiences added to his resume. These government jobs are the ones that sound the most interesting to him, but overall they don't pay nearly as well as a firm job would pay him. That's another reason for me to go back to school.

So, after studying all day at work, and Mark still studying at night, what do I do with myself in the evenings? This past week I added something to our living room that makes it feel a lot more homey in here- I sewed curtains, and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself! Mark and I picked out the fabric last Saturday, using my gift card for JoAnn Fabrics (thanks Tiffany!), and now I have some left over to make throw pillows for our couches. Well...not the couches that we currently have. Mark really is getting sick of our couches and wants to buy some really nice leather couches that will actually go with the decor that we have, and that would be comfortable. I thought that making these curtains would appease Mark's desire for change in the look of our apartment. Apparently the curtains make him want couches even more. Ugh! Oh well, we'll see how long I can hold out on this expensive request. I caved in on the big-screen TV thing back in September. Hopefully I can convince Mark that we really can't afford couches this year...wish me luck!