If I could...
I would make fresh bread everyday...
I would stay at home and quilt...
I would prop my sandal-ed feet up in my hammock and read late into the afternoon...
If only, if only...

Wow! I didn't know I still had this blog! I tried to sign in the other day and couldn't. I'm not sure how I'm signed in now... as my office-mate likes to say... "mmm-MAGIC!" The magic of the internets works its mysterious powers in my life once again.

So I got a job!!! I wasn't exactly looking for the job, it popped out of nowhere and now I start work in a week! God provides!
A year ago Adam's boss (who shall remain nameless) met with me to look over my resume and give me suggestions on where I should look for a job. Adam and I were both surprised when he encouraged me to apply for a software engineering job at Harris. I have 25 hours of undergraduate computer science course work (5 hours short of a major), and yet because I quit the Bioinformatics program my senior year and went on to do graduate work in biology, I felt like I had no business looking for a programming job. I gave Adam's boss my resume to pass around, but like a week later Harris put a hold on hiring new grads. So for the first half of this year I pursued a job in the field of biology with no luck. I think last June or July Harris began hiring new grads again. So in one last ditch effort to find a job before I completely committed to nursing school, I turned in another resume to Adam's boss. In the middle of October HR from Harris contacted me to see if I would be interested in an interview. I let HR know that I was interested. Two weeks went by and I heard nothing back from HR. In early November Adam's group at Harris had a party. Adam and I walked in and began talking to this vaguely familiar looking man (Adam's boss, although I didn't realize it at the time). We were making small talk and he mentioned how Harris needed to hire experienced people with security clearances (it was starting to dawn on me that this guy has to be important, but I still had no idea who he was). I made a side comment to Adam about how that must be the reason HR never got back in contact with me. Then Adam explained to his boss how HR had contacted me a couple of weeks ago. Adam's boss became very interested and asked me the name of my point of contact at HR. I told him the man's name and Adam's boss was like "Maybe I can give him a little nudge and get him to contact you next week." After he walked away, I was like "Who was THAT?" and Adam was like "duh, my boss" (OK so he didn't really say it like that). I was so embarrassed, because I wasn't sure if I seemed too forward about getting the job and also, I was in a TERRIBLE mood. Yet sure enough, the following week I had an interview set up. I had a gut-feeling I was going to get the job and yet I'm surprised that I actually got the job. I'm so excited and determined to do well, although I'm EXTREMELY nervous about programming (rightly so! It's been 5 years since I've written a line of code!). But man, talk about knowing the right person at the right time! I start a week from Monday. I can hardly believe I'll be working and making money like a real grown-up. Wow I'm nervous... but a BIG 'OLE THANK YOU goes out to Adam's boss!!!

So it's been forever since I last updated.
Not a lot has happened, and yet a lot has changed.

So here is a brief history of my life since february:

Feburary - I worked hard and finished editing my thesis and sent it in for submission.

March - I began looking for a job. I applied to: most private christian schools in the county, Brevard Community College, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Scripps Institute in Miami, some cancer institute (Moffit?) in Tampa, Midwest Research Institute in Palm Bay, Wuestoff Medical Center, UCF, and FIT. Meanwhile, my committee reviewed my thesis and basically said "boo you suck. this paper SUCKS." I ended up getting interviews with: Brevard Community College, Covenant Christian High School, and Midwest Research Insititute.

April - I made the second interview process with Covenant Christian High School and Midwest Research Institute. I thought my interview with Midwest Research Institute went well (one of the senior scientists said my answers were the best he had ever heard and that he had made his decision on hiring me). I got a part-time job with Target. I started editing my thesis again. I went to visit my family in Jackson.

May - I had a thrid interview with Midwest Research Institute. I quit Target to focus on my thesis, and because I also believed that I would be working at Midwest Research Institute soon. I started spending all my spare time looking for a house. Adam and I found a house and decided to buy our first house (AHHHHHHH!)! We went to Birmingham to and Texas.

June - Adam and I bought our house! Midwest Research Institute said "thank you NO." I interviewed with several public high schools in the county.

July - I found out that I am obviously not qualified to teach high school through more interviews with public and private high schools. I sent in a several more job applications to different companys around the area (a pathology lab, some biotech company near NASA, water companies, another hospital, Midwest Research Institute), although I never heard back from any of the companies. I decided that I have just enough education to get me absolutely nowhere in life. While working on my thesis, I finally was able to step back enough to see that parts of it really do suck and need work. And, I decided to change careers even though I don't technically have a career.

August - No looking back! I started taking my prerequisites (nutrition, psychology, Anatomy and Physiology I and II) at Brevard Community College. I applied to and got accepted to UCF and have everything ready to apply for the Accelerated-Nursing Program in November. I started volunteering at the local hospital. I started playing my violin again with the Melbourne Community Orchestra. I'm one of its youngest members! =)

September - My parents finally came to visit us!! They helped us with some house and yard projects, improving the overall look of our house. While they were here we went shark fishing off the Cape, dancing at the Melbourne community center, attended a lecture on how to raise healthy trees, watched the sun rise, bar-singing at Meg O Malley's, and window shopping (literally) at Vero Beach. Fun was had by all and we look forward to their next visit.

Now -

Life was... well... for a while there, rough. I struggled and cried a lot. I've been humbled and felt like a failure in every area of my life. I had a plan for my life and was ready to put my plans into action. I figured I would graduate with my master's in May, have no problem finding a job (because everyone would think "wow. she has her master's. she must be good! I'll hire her!"), start working and climbing the corporate ladder at a $50K job as an Associate Scientist at some research company, work for a couple of years before having my kids at age 28. I still don't think there's anything wrong with that plan. But I guess (I mean, I trust) that God has a better plan. I'm just learning to let Him work it out while I go along for the ride. So, life is working out... not the way I planned, but where's the fun in that?

So not much else is going on here. Even though I'm ready for this semester to end, it's been good and I'm glad I took the plunge and started classes towards a career in nursing. I'm stoked about nursing school. Now we all just need to pray that I'll get into the program because if I don't.....
One day at a time.

not much going on in the land-o-florida.

adam and i had fun at christmas with my family. there was plenty of laughter and food to go around. this year, my family decided to join the harders in throwing a gag-gift party. it was new years eve, so Jumbo's Chinese Restaurant delivered (to satisfy adam's and my tradition of eating asian food on new years). ash and i ended up with fake african art, while my aunt vicki ended up with jeeves the vacuum butler who is garunteed to change your closet, if not your life as well.



i'm still editing my wretched thesis. it's a MUCH slower process than i anticipated. i'm really ready to be done with this thing and working, although i'm not yet employed, nor do i have any prospects. adam's company could hire me... and as much as a programmer's salary entices me, i'm not yet sure if that is the right job for me. so i'm still praying and waiting to see what else turns up.

melanie and walker hall came to visit us around new years. it was GREAT to see them again. i've missed melanie so much! we spent the afternoon on a picnic at the beach. i think it was january 3rd and it was 80 degrees out. i love florida.

adam celebrated his 26th birthday. he's becoming an old man. 30 is too close for comfort. i made strawberry muffins for him (a tradition now), we went to church (his birthday was on a sunday this year), then we attempted to go sailing, but showed up 30 minutes too late. so we ended up walking around downtown melbourne and the beach. then we ate out at Thai Thai II restaurant (another 5 year tradition of eating at an asian restaurant), and coming home and watching the Godfather part II.

look at my beautiful fatheads!

i don't really have much to say. thanksgiving was alright, although it didn't really seem like thanksgiving. we stayed here. we had turkey with our bible study leader's parents. it was good food! i was very grateful to them for having us there!
and before dinner, while it was still daylight, adam and i played some tennis until i couldn't take our suckiness any longer. we STINK to high heaven. if we are having a good day (which rarely happens) maybe, just maybe adam and i can volley about 5 times in a row. like i said, we're terrible. most of the time we just hit balls that bounce into the net, over the fence or off into the far corners of the court. but what am i saying? that's if we even hit the ball! so i guess you could say we don't really play tennis. we play something i like to call "pong." the rules are simple. hit the ball in a way in which the other person is able to hit it back, add one point. miss the ball, or hit it in a way in which the other person cannot hit it back, subtract one point. serves don't count for points. we try to get to 100 points. we've only reached it once and it took FOREVER. on thanksgiving day i think we hardly made it to 20. and i've had tennis lessons!! but at least we both suck together. i would feel bad for adam if he were way better than me.

the day after thanksgiving, adam and i woke up at the b-crack of dawn and went to take part in some of that holiday magic that comes around once a year on black friday. target was offering a dvd ash wants for christmas for $18 that normally goes for ~$35. so being the great sister i am, i thought adam and i could get out of bed, run over to target, grab the dvd, and be back in bed before you could blink. i had no idea. the next morning we left around 6:30am withOUT our cell phones. i didn't think we would need them. we got to target and i was shocked to find that there wasn't a single parking place! not a single space! people were parking on the grass or making their own spaces at the end of rows. it was MADDENING! my gosh. i had NO idea how crazy it was going to be. i thought that no one in their right mind would be up so early shopping. i was SO wrong. i let adam out of the car to grab the dvd and thought i would keep driving around until a spot became free. i drove around and around the parking lot for what seemed like hours (probably only 10 minutes) and fumed over not bringing my cell phone. i had just about decided to leave the parking lot all together and drive down the street when suddenly someone pulled out and no one was already in line for the spot. i then ran into the target and rubbed shoulders with about 1000 people while trying to find adam. i looked for what seemed like hours (again, probably only 10 minutes), before i decided i would go and page him from the front of the store. but i finally found him waiting in the longest line i had ever seen. so about 1 1/2 hours later, adam and i returned home. gee. i like saving money, but THAT was CUR-A-ZEE. at least now i know how this black friday stuff works. there needs to be at least two of you and you MUST have cell phones! as much as i hate crowds and being up before the sun, i do love saving money. though, it looks like during the week after thanksgiving there are other sales going on as well. so is it worth waking up early to fight over all this crap?? i dunno. i hate to admit it, but i'll probably be one of those crazy wake-up-at-5-in-the-freakin-morning-to-catch-the-sale moms, if what i am specifically after goes on a crazy low sale. it's like the money experts say, never buy at full price.

i am proud to report that Dr. Nusbaum finished reading my lit review and he likes it! he said that it is very thoroughly researched and good. yah you bet this thing was thorough! i only spent like freakin forever on it. i should be an expert of fish immune systems now. but alas, i've already forgotten a lot, if not most, of what i wrote. such is life. you spend so much time and energy on something only to forget it.

adam and i might have to get my mini cooper sooner than expected. his silver bullet is dying. so sad. being the first borns we are, we're both afraid to touch the car with a 20-foot pole in fear it might explode because of its given death sentence. but i'm totally pumped about getting a mini. i'll make excuses for us to go driving all the time. my poor bike will grow neglected.

adam and i went to a seminar that taught us about buying your first house. not that we are anywhere remotely ready to buy one. sometimes i don't think we'll ever be able to afford a house here. they are SO expensive. and what scares me is that what used to be a $70,000 house last year is now close to $200,000. how do we know if it was under priced then or over priced now? and if interest rates go up, will the house market take a dive? PUH-LEASE i hope so! a $200,000 house is crap around here too. most of the nicer homes are over $250,000, but it's going to take over 2 years to even save 20% of that! which i guess means we really can't afford that price. oh well. i'm just having to learn about contentness. this week i thought i was going to go out of my mind living here any longer, but then we bought air fresheners and i'm MUCH better. i just hate that our apartment smells like stale smoke and dander. gross! but air fresheners help a ton. and hopefully when i get a job, being away from the apartment will help make it less annoying. i just have to keep telling myself "i can do anything for 2 years!" oh and i'm so sad. i was hoping to get a job that paid around $40,000 a year. i don't think that's too unreasonable. but maybe i was wrong. maybe i'll be lucky to make $30,000. one of my friends seems to think i'll make that much. i always expected more, and i guess that's wrong. but my plan was to buy a mini within a year and a half, and after i buy the car, use the money i was spending on the car to buy furniture etc. but i think adam would rather me not buy that stuff and save ALL the money. i guess though it's not wise to spend money before you have it. =) so i guess i'll stop my complaining. back to work for me!