11 Months of Marriage and other nonsense

Today marks 11 months of marriage for us! I can't even believe we have almost been married a year, even more than that I can't believe I haven't finished my recaps on my wedding blog. Bad blogger, no cookie. There has been a lot happening in the SalTal household as of late, in fact it's been downright crazy. I should make more time to blog but it just doesn't happen. Andy working from home and using the only computer we have kind of puts a kink in things. So what's new with me/us? Well I'll tell you:

1. Let's start with the sad news first. Andy's grandma passed away a couple weeks ago. She lived a long life and it wasn't completely unexpected but it was still hard for Andy. We had the funeral to attend up north, which meant we got to see all of Andy's family which was the bright side of a sad event. I think he is doing okay, he won't really talk about any of it, which I understand. I have just been trying to be there for him any way I possibly can.
2. We have been formally pre-approved for our mortgage to buy a house as of yesterday. We were kind of bad and went looking before we were pre-approved but none of the houses were crazy expensive, which made it a little better. Now that we have our pre-approval letter I feel a little better about looking and I hope that we find something perfect for us in our budget, which I'm sure we will. Our next trip up to Toledo is in the end of March and we have four new houses to look at and one from our first round of house hunting that we are looking at again. All and all I think we will find the perfect starter home. 
3. Andy and I discussed it and I will (hopefully, so long as I get accepted) be starting grad school in the fall. We have been going around and around on this decision, debating when the perfect time to go back to school would be, but the truth is, there isn't a perfect time, there is never going to be enough money or time or energy. So I finally decided that I have to do what's right for me. I'm kind of sick of being directionless when it comes to my professional life and working at whatever job I can find so we can get by. I know what I want to be finally and I don't want to put it off any longer. So I'm going for my Masters in Library and Information Science. I'm thrilled with this decision, I love working at the library and would love to make it a career. I will have to find a job in Toledo that will allow me to work on my classes (I'm doing an online program) and pay enough to pay the bills but it seems less depressing if I will be working on my career.
4. I put in my two weeks at my non library job. I am feeling really mixed up about this one. Although I am happy because I will have more time to focus on packing the house for our move and cleaning, I am sad because I enjoyed it there. After some debate and discussion Andy and I decided that the effort (bouncing from one job to the next, taking away days off) wasn't worth what I was getting (one to two shifts a week). I knew that eventually I was going to quit, I just thought it wouldn't be until we moved. I think it was the right move for me, one shift a week wasn't really helping us out financially and since it was normally on a day or night that I would have off of my other job it was taking time away from Andy. I guess we will see how it feels in another week after I am officially done working there.

So that is what is new with us/me! Hope all is well out there in blogger land. Promise to try to post more soon.

Things my dogs have taught me

Since getting Murphy I have learned quite a few valuable lessons about myself, running our household and life itself. I guess Pepper had taught be a few things previously but she was just...easy...that's the right word, she was an easy dog. There were some rough moments in the beginning but she was almost a year old when I found her most of the puppy behavior was out of her system. Except for chewing, like when she chewed on every dining table leg on my parent's formal dining table. Hey, I said we had a few rough moments. But Murphy is a whole 'nother can of worms. I'll be honest, I have never had a puppy, at least not one since I have been out of my parents house. And let's be honest, when you have a team of 5 people taking shifts taking the pup out and watching him, it's a smidgen easier. So what have I learned exactly, you might ask? Well here's a little list for you.

1. Two dogs are better than one in the sense that they entertain each other...growling and wrestling all over the living room while you try to watch TV.
2. Having animals is like parent boot camp, especially puppies, these little stinkers need to be fed, put down for naps, the house needs to be puppy-proofed (see number 4), they need entertained and generally take up a great deal of your time. I can honestly say, I do not want children for a few years after having Murphy.
3. Medical care is of the highest importance. The dogs have been to the vet more in the last 2 months than I have been to the doctor in the last year.
4. Keeping a clean house is vitally important...because you never know what your puppy might find, like q-tips, your laptop charging cord, your shoes (keep in mind most of these things were not in obvious reachable places)
5. My puppy loves me. How do I know? Because he has taken a liking to ALL of my delicates. No matter where they are he somehow finds my bras and underwear. Although I have to admit when he runs into the living room with my bra, Andy's laughing and "That's my boy." statements make me giggle.

That's about all I've got for now. I'll post again after I get a new laptop cord and can post on my own computer again. In the meantime maybe Andy will grace us with his presence with some profound post.

Life is busy...

scratch that...life is crazy. This weekend right now, is literally our only free weekend between now and our vacation at the end of the month, hell,  it's basically been the only weekend we've had free since we moved here. It's crazy, I just don't get it. It's like we got married and suddenly we have no free time. What is this nonsense??? Then, there are the week days, obviously we both have jobs during the week which means my free time is scant. When I do get some free time, I really don't want to get on the computer. It's what I do all day at work. I admit I miss blogging, it's cathardic, it's fun, I like writing, but when it comes down to facing another computer screen after a 12 hour day (yes, seriously, that's been the kinds of days I have had) I just don't want to do it. I think you all can understand. Hopefully, this job is only temporary and I will have one that doesn't place me in a dark nook in front of a computer for hours on end. Ugh. Okay, enough about work. Happy thoughts.

We got on our trip to Florida in just a few short weeks, 25 days to be exact. I'm stoked. We're going to Harry Potter land and Disney World. It will be great to spend five days with my husband and some time with my parents, who will be there at the same time as us. This trip is what gets me through my days at work, I don't know what will happen after the trip is over. I guess we will have to plan something else to look forward to!

Anywho, I wanted you all to know I'm not dead, just crazy busy. I think of you all often, I promise to try to write again soon!

A letter to my husband

Okay folks, I'm warning you now, I'm about to get sappy. So if you are in the mood for some cheese, grab a bottle of wine and read on, if not, take a hike and try back next time (I'll still <3 you, promise).

Dear Andy,

This is it. The final two days we will ever have to be seperated. Finally, the unannounced trips, the drives to the airport, the late night phone dates, are coming to an end. Our dreams are coming true, we got married, we have moved into a beautiful house that we are working to make into a home, we are expanding our family, we have jobs, we are living the life we had always talked about. It wasn't easy, we have worked our asses off to get to this point. There were fights, tears, endless talks, hard times, scary times, sad times, and I'll admit there were times I thought we would never get out of the rut our lives were in. There were moments that I never thought that we would see this day. Let me tell you, all those moments make the coming days that much sweeter. I want you to know that you are my rock, as corny as that sounds, and I want you to know that we wouldn't be where we are if it weren't for your encouragement and never-failing optimism. We make a great team and I am so happy that we get to take this journey together. I want you to know I love you so much and I can't wait to see where this journey leads us.

Love forever and always,
Your wife, friend and partner