Curtis and I are really starting to settle in here. It's been a really hard transition for me...really hard. But I do like it here. We like it here. Curtis really likes his job and he's good at it. I feel really lucky that he's found something that he likes so much to do for the rest of his life. He enjoys going to work, and that's a blessing. I found a job here too. I'm working as a nanny for 2 moms near me. They each have a little baby. One is about 4 months old and the other is about 5 months old. So far, I've just been tending the younger one by himself, but starting next week, the other little boy will come and I'll tend him as well. I like my job, but it's hard work. I have to be there at 6:30 am and I'm there til 5:30. They are long long days. But it's good for me right now.
As far as my teaching is concerned...ugh...I don't even want to talk about it. People warned me that here in Alabama it would be hard for me, and they were not wrong. I'm going to have to retest. I'm going to have to pay to take a test I've already taken! Plus, I have to pay to have my old test scores sent digitally to the state of Alabama. AND I have to take an additional test that the state of Alabama requires. So disheartening. But I do know that ultimately, teaching is what I want to do. So I'm going to try to get my crap together and get the ball rolling. It'll be expensive, and nerve wracking, but I'll do it.
Our ward here is amazing. I've never felt so welcome and wanted in a ward before. We have friends there, and people know us and want to talk to us and see how we are doing. We are wanted there and we contribute to our ward. And the members here are amazing. Members in Utah are fine...I don't downgrade anything about them. But members in Utah tend to take the church for granted. That doesn't happen here as much. The members cling to the church, and they strive to do good continually. They don't live life however they feel during the week and then show up to church just because that's what you do; they're not trying to keep up appearances. They WANT to be there. There's not a mormon church on every corner, and you don't run in to mormons at the grocery store. The boy who carries your groceries isn't a mormon. And the sweet lady you sit next to at the baseball tournament isn't mormon. Your neighbors aren't mormon. Your boss isn't mormon. Your ward means a lot, and so does the Gospel. I've truly learned a lot being here. And I know that I want people around me to know that I love and live the Gospel. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; I love it, I'm proud of it, and I want to be caught continually doing good.
Curtis and I FINALLY made it to the beach and it was amazing! The beaches here are beautiful. The sand is soft and smooth and so white! The water is blue and warm (Okay it wasn't that warm, but it will warm up. And compared to Bear Lake, it's a hot tub.)! The sun is different here too, it's so intense. An hour out in the sun here and I have a light sun tan. An hour out in the sun in Utah is like: ooh it's warm today. I love the warmth here. But I keep getting warned, "Just wait til July! The humidity and heat will kill you, and you'll be wishing it was April again!" But I look forward to experiencing that southern weather.
Curtis and I are also taking full advantage of seafood. Seafood is like a way of life around here. Ever heard of crawfish? Yeah...everyone eats them and loves them. I think they're okay. I just have a hard time getting past the fact that they bring a whole bunch of "mud bugs" on your plate. You have to rip the head off and rip the shell off. The meat is not that bad...it's just the fact that a whole bug is sitting on your plate staring at you! But crawfish are southern. So is crab. I do love crab. :)
This past Sunday was not only Easter, but it was Curtis' birthday as well. It was different being away from family for those fun occasions. But we made it work. Curtis had some kind of stomach bug, so we stayed home from church that day. We had some friends invite us to an Easter dinner, but we stayed home from that as well, which was a bummer. But I didn't mind spending a lazy day at home with Curtis. I pulled together a simple lunch, made Curtis a cake, and we watched movies. One movie to be exact: Star Wars. Curtis has been dying to have that whole saga on blue ray. So me and the Easter bunny got together and scrounged up enough money for it. It made him really happy, so we spent the evening watching that. It was fun. I still feel lucky to have Curtis as my husband. :)
Our apartment still looks like a mad house; like we moved in yesterday. We still have tons of boxes around. They're filled with stuff that had a home in our last place, but we just don't know what to do with that stuff now. We don't want to throw it out, but we don't really use it. So it continues to sit in boxes that are starting to drive me crazy. We have tried to make it a little more homy though. We recently put up curtains in our bedroom. I love them. But we don't have a drill, haha:) so it was quite an adventure getting the rod up. We may have broken 2 screws in the process, and it's a bit shotty, but the curtains are up and they look nice. We've starting hanging lots of pictures and putting decorations up. And I do feel like this is our little slice of heaven. It's not much, but it;s our home. And we are happy here.
No comments:
Post a Comment