Saturday, April 24, 2010

KCMO

We have some really big news that I haven't shared on here yet.  I think I've alluded to it, but I haven't actually stated it out loud in black and white. Why not? Denial, I guess. But the time has come. 

And no, I'm not pregnant - haha.

Dan is required to do an internship for the summer and fall semesters of this year. This means, starting June 1st and continuing through December, he won't be taking classes but instead will be working in a real live hospital.  He'll then come back next spring and take classes for one more semester. He'll then graduate and there is a high probability that he will get a job from his internship site - of course, this depends on a lot of external factors, though.

There is one internship in Waco but the rest are all in other locations around the country. So when he started the program, we had to make the decision about where he was going to do his internship.  His advisor helped us figure out which internships were the best match for Dan personality-wise, and out of those, we tried to pick the one that would have the most long-term opportunities for both of us.  We ended up agreeing that the internship at a hospital system in Kansas City, Missouri would be a great opportunity for Dan and a place that both of us could potentially get jobs after graduation. 

So, Dan had a phone interview, and we went out there over spring break and he had a real interview, and all went well (of course!). So that means that next month, we are packing up some of our stuff and moving Dan to Kansas City! He will be living in a small apartment with furniture that the good people of Kansas City have donated to garage sales or Goodwill. I'll help him move, stay there a week or so, and then fly back to Waco. And then...that's it. He starts up there and I continue down here. For seven months. 

I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet. Or rather, there are a lot of mixed emotions going on. We are both excited for this opportunity. Everything I hear about these hospitals suggest that they are a great company to work for, and what a great place for Dan to get started. Also, there are a lot of psychology internships around Kansas City, or at least within driving distance, and so if he were to get a job there after he graduates I could hopefully get an internship there as well. It's definitely not guaranteed though, for either of us, so there is a lot left up in the air.  We are both praying that we are making the right choices and that it will all work out well in the end. But it could work out totally wrong and we could end up being apart for way longer if things go wrong, like if I don't get an internship the first year. 

So there's our news. We're currently in the process of trying to divide up our stuff such as kitchen items, sheets, and stuff like that so Dan has to buy as little as possible when he moves. We're also trying to figure out the logistics of visiting each other as much as possible - how do people do that with full time jobs?! 

Dan has offered to contribute to the blog when he moves under the heading "Adventures in Kansas City." I really hope he does, so you guys have to encourage him and tell him that you want to hear from him, too! I have been encouraging him to post on the blog from day one of starting this thing and so far I have only succeeded in my efforts one time.  (I'm not complaining though - he does way more important and helpful things for me and I'll pick my battles!) We are both getting nervous about having to do chores that we've been able to give up for the past two years and four months - me: laundry, vacuuming, and taking Sammie out early in the morning, and Dan: cooking and mopping. We will have to see how all that goes. 

So yeah. We are sort of excited and sort of sad. I guess you'll see how this goes for both of us for the rest of the year. The official move date is May 24th. We picked that day because it's the day after the season finale of Lost. Sean and Faith scheduled their honeymoon to start the 24th, too, so it's good to see we all have our priorities straight even though there are all these crazy changes going on!

Monday, April 12, 2010

'Tis Wedding Season - With Working Pictures :)

I'm reposting this because some of the pictures weren't working in the last post - sorry about that!

Last weekend, Dan and I headed down to San Antonio to see two of our good friends, Sean and Faith, get married. San Antonio is normally about three hours away from Waco, and we got stuck in traffic on the way down, so it took us about four hours or so to get down there. We were planning on spending Saturday afternoon walking around, but instead we had to hurry up and grab something to eat and head to the wedding. All in all, we were only there for about twenty-four hours so it was an exhausting weekend, but so much fun!
We stayed in the St. Anthony Hotel. Of course, we booked it through Priceline, and we were so happy with it. It was a really unique older hotel - it's actually a historical landmark. I tried to take a few pictures but it's hard to capture the feel of a place with a camera.
Or maybe that's just me. But oh well...here's our room. Notice the antique wooden bed and dresser...

And here's the lobby of the hotel. I know! Can you believe this place?
Then we were off to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens for the wedding! It was a gorgeous day and all the flowers were in full bloom. I didn't have a lot of time to look around or take pictures because we were running a little late. We did get one picture of us in front of some of the greenery:



And I did get a picture of this guy:
He was playing bagpipes for their wedding! Sean is Irish and Faith is Mexican, and they incorporated a lot of their heritages into the ceremony and reception. The bagpiper played all the music for the ceremony.
And then for the reception....mariachi!

Yes, an all-female mariachi group. They were great. They actually only played during cocktail hour and then a DJ took over. So we mingled with friends for the cocktail hour and listened to the great music. Next, we sat down at our table to cute little menu cards and tile place settings. If you can't tell, the food was Mexican/Southwestern themed.

Here's a picture of me, Faith and Jenny at the reception.


And here Dan and I are with Sean (the groom), Camden, and Matthew.

So much fun! Eleven of us went out to brunch the next day at the Guenther House and then we came home. I honestly wanted to go to bed around 7:00 pm that night, and I was definitely sound asleep by 9:00. So, moral of the story: San Antonio is fun, weddings are great, and check the traffic before you go.

Easter

Easter was two weeks ago. If we were home with our families in Ohio, we would have celebrated with them, but we weren't, so we didn't. But we still enjoyed ourselves - we went to church and then spent the day with friends and had a great time. We also did a few other activities to celebrate the holiday.

Here is Dan the day before at Tehaucana Creek Winery. Actually, this had nothing to do with Easter, but it was just a really nice day so we went out there and sat outside for a couple hours while enjoying some Mulsum wine. He was having trouble when I was trying to take pictures of him because he was staring into the sun...
Here's me:
Then, we had an Easter Egg hunt! Dan and I each hid eggs for each other with candy in them. We also hid a few with dog treats for Sammie. Here's Dan helping Sammie find one of her eggs:
Found it!
Then it was my turn. I went through the entire downstairs of our apartment without finding a single egg until Dan started giving me hints. It was not because I am that awful at egg finding - he just hid them in really hard places! Exhibit A: He hid one in a box that holds my brand new ravioli cutter.
Dan then went through the upstairs and found his. He did a much better job finding them than I did, although he still needed a few hints! Here he is pulling one out of my boot:
So, now you know what went on in our household for Easter! Maybe next year we will even do baskets!