the silver lining

so these past couple of weeks have been insane for many reasons.

1. we bought a $600 piece of junk truck (so that craig could use it to build/restore an old muscle car) that has had absolutely everything wrong with it...including stolen registration tags. so far, we've invested a bit over $3000 into that piece. the silver lining? that sucker will run for over 100,000 more miles, so we can either keep it and run it into the ground or sell it once we're done using it...once we finally get it back from the shop.

2. i've been fighting with corporate still about my back. i've now been out of work for 7 weeks and they don't care. my store manager and the district manager have been fighting for me (which i am so so so thankful for), but the guy at corporate couldn't care less. so, here i am at home with an incredibly painful back and no paycheck. super duper. the silver lining? i'm still trying to figure this one out...

3. we're moving to a new apt complex in fullerton, which is about 20 minutes from where we live now. the rent is hundreds of $ cheaper (phew) and we'll be so much closer to craig's family and friends. in fact, we'll be one floor above and 3 apts over from our friends courtney and woody. we are so excited for this next step in our lives, and i am looking at is as a 'fresh start' for me. i won't feel like as much of a hermit and i will hopefully be starting a new (and better) job in that area. the silver lining? pretty much everything i've already stated.

4. since we're moving i feel like i have done nothing but prepare for it for the past 2 weeks. i've moved apt complexes before, but it seems like so much more of a hassle now that craig and i are married. i have to make sure that the mail gets forwarded...pack...get this apt in tip top shape so that we can get a huge chunk of our $2000 deposit back...pack...deal with edison...pack...and on and on and on. it's such a huge hassle. the silver lining? i am feeling very helpful and worthy since i've pretty much taken on all of the moving responsibilities.

5. we puppy-sat for courtney and woody's dog bailey while they were on their honeymoon. don't get me wrong, i loved having bailey. she provided us with so much entertainment for the week that we had her...after all, she was only 7 weeks old. i've never had a dog before, so that was quite the growing experience for me. craig and i kept calling bailey a kitty, and her barks meows. the silver lining? who doesn't love a puppy?!

even though the last 2 weeks or so have been really stressful, i have been trying to find the silver linings in every situation. with all of the stress and pain every event has caused me and craig, i have to remind myself that God is in control...which has been quite hard for me to remember. it can be so easy to focus on the bad in life which will just bring you down. the silver linings may seem to be all the good that it coming out of this stressful time right now, but i know that it will get better for us. i just have to trust.

the silver lining to my life...i have a beyond-amazing and supportive husband, great friends and family, and God keeps stretching me and making me grow in ways that i couldn't have imagined.

whirlwind

on friday, april 24th, manda, erin, and i headed out to palm desert for a little oreo time. it was such a fun and relaxing weekend! we got to the house on friday night and relaxed by going in the spa and watching a little csi miami. the weather was just so great on saturday that we spent almost the entire day outside. we sat out by the pool and rode scooters down through the neighborhood. that night we went out to dinner at cafe italia to celebrate manda's birthday. the restaurant is known for having singing waiters and waitresses, and is always full of elderly golf-loving couples. we were by far the youngest ones there, but we still had a lot of fun! we went back to the house after dinner to set a few little things up for manda. the three of us spent the rest of the night eating cupcakes, talking, and smoking cigars. it was such a great weekend for the three of us to spend some time together and catch up a bit more.

after getting back home i unpacked and then packed for my trip to dallas. my mom was having sinus surgery on monday, and i was going to keep her company. she was pretty out of it at times, but other than that she was normal. it was good to see my family again so soon. on the flight back home i noticed that i recognized a passenger that got on the plane. it was owen wilson. yep. the movie start himself. he was only on the plane from dallas to austin, but hey...i was a mere 2 inches from owen wilson. the rest of the flight i was occupied by 'the undomestic goddess' by sophie kinsella (whom i love) and dewey (the famous library cat).

i got back from dallas on thursday at 4:30, sat in traffic for nearly 2 hours, got back about 10 minutes before craig, unpacked from dallas, packed for san diego, and then craig and i were on our way. i booked us a hotel room in san diego on thursday night, and then i got us tickets to the wild animal park for friday. craig's 24th birthday was on saturday so we got a head start on celebrating his birthday. the park was so much fun. we walked the whole park and got to see so many animals. we had a lot of fun, and i am so glad that craig enjoyed the trip. on saturday he had to work-and of course he didn'g get off on time-so when he came home i made him a home cooked meal and watched a movie. then on sunday (after a lot of cleaning) we went out to dinner at lucille's with craig's family. lucille's is always a good choice with craig. after dinner we had everyone over for some cake and more hang-out time.

now, i am finally back home and things are back to normal. well, as normal as it can be at the moment. :-)