Much Needed Update

I guess its high time I updated this right? Most (hopefully all) of you who care already know how we're doing, but since I'm converting this into a blog that is pretty much meant to keep friends and family back home updated, I figure I'd better get to it already.

First off, like I just mentioned, I'm making this blog primarily a way for family and friends to keep up with us since we've moved a few hours away. Anyone else is free to read it of course, but it'll probably be boring to anyone who doesn't know us. I'm also in the process of transferring Feature Friday over to a friend's blog (Sara over at SaMiEDesigns). I think I was putting too much pressure on myself to get a certain number of posts up each week, and it just wasn't fun anymore.

So then. On to the how we're doing. :)

First off, let me just say... we LOVE it here!!! Everyone is SO friendly, and not once has Jess been called 'sir' (which was almost a daily occurrence back home). Its also amazing to be surrounded by so many trees, and incredible to see the gorgeous views we encounter every day (from the mountains we see outside our door to the city below as we drive down the mountain, as well as the many mountain views we see while driving around town and anytime we drive anywhere else! I feel so blessed that we are able to live here. We were a bit rocky on money at first, but we are getting back on our feet. Jess has been getting a lot of extra hours at work lately and also gets 3 checks this month, so that definitely helps.

I love my job too. The $5/hour pay cut from what I was used to in nursing is an adjustment, but its sooo worth it. The work is not nearly as stressful, physically or mentally. Walgreen's is an awesome company to work for too. We get discounts with a lot of major companies (Apple and Ford, to name a few- could definitely come in handy if we ever buy another car!), as well as store discounts and benefits. (I'm not sure yet on how good the benefits are. I will be eligible for them in a few weeks though, so I should be getting info on them soon. Hard to believe we've already been here almost 3 months!)

My favorite of the Scenic Overlook
pictures I took Thursday,
edited with Instagram

This past Thursday I ended up going on a last-minute trip up to Johnson City, Tennessee for a work meeting for new employees. (Mgmt didn't hear about it til last minute and told me I didn't have to worry about it if I didn't want to, but I wanted to go. I love seeing new places.) It was just under an hour's drive, and the meeting was your typical new employee meeting. My favorite part though was the drive! There are SO many beautiful mountain views, and there are periodic 'Scenic Overlooks' along the way. I didn't stop at any on the way there because I wanted to make sure I got there on time, but I stopped at several on the way home and took TONS of pictures.

I am not so crazy about Jess' job though. She gets, on average, 12 hours a week, and makes less an hour than I do. Her boss is a total airhead, makes last minute changes to the schedule and doesn't tell anyone, and then gets pissed when someone doesn't show up for work. She has such a horrible attitude in general too, she is always bitching and complaining about something! I think the only thing Jess really likes about the job is the 25% discount, and the occasional day they do where employees get an extra 25% off. We are looking for her a new one, but it seems there are too many people looking for jobs and too few companies hiring. We'll keep trying though!

We still love our apartment. Its much smaller than the townhouse was, and has been a bit of an adjustment, and there are still several boxes sitting full of things we have nowhere to put. But those of you who know me at all know I have plans for some new storage options when we have the extra money! And its a lot less to clean, so that is nice of course! :) I think one of the things I love the most about it is the location. Its a fairly upscale neighborhood, and I love to go walking to see all the beautiful houses and scenery, and of course take pictures! I'm still working on actually getting out and going walking more, but I do it more here than I did back in Lincolnton!

On that note, we've also lost some weight! Can't really say the exact amounts, because we haven't had a chance to get on the only scale we had weighed on back home (my mom's), but we both fit into a lot of clothes that weren't fitting before. We got on the scale at my sister Crystal's house last weekend and it said 180 lbs for me (Jess didn't want me to reveal her number), which is awesome! Last time we weighed at my mom's I *think* I was around 205 or 210 (that's the kind of memory you suppress lol) and Jess was about 25 lbs less than the last time she weighed at Mama's. So that's somewhere around 25-30 lbs for both of us! (Crystal claims the scale actually runs about 10 off, in a good way, but that would put me at 170 and I just can't believe that! Last time I was 170 I was wearing a size 11/12, and right now I'm ecstatic to be fitting in my size 15 jeans again. But I will gladly take 180!)

I think that's about it for now, at least that's all I can think of! Miss you guys, and love you all!