It's the Holiday Season

Thanksgiving is almost here!  I love the holidays - time with family, traveling, great food, and, of course, time off from work and school.  I'm definitely needing it this time of year. 

With the wedding right in the middle of the semester, it's been a little difficult to catch back up with everything.  As much as I love it, I'm ready for my first semester of teaching to be over.  It has been an amazing experience and I am so thankful for it, but it has been a long, busy semester alongside going to graduate school full-time.  I can't believe that in just a few short weeks, I will only have one semester left of school before graduation.  I can't wait!

With my graduate career coming to an end, it's time for me to start my thesis, the huge project at the end of the program that must be completed to graduate.  Technically, I should have started the project back in August because the English department says an entire academic year is needed to complete it.  With the wedding and the chaos of the apartment remodel and move, I put it off until this semester and will finish by August so that I can still participate in May commencement.  I'm actually excited to get started on my project.  Since I'm concentrating in creative writing, I will be working on a creative project.  I have my committee assembled and my topic underway!

Married life has been amazing thus far.  We've been encouraging each other with school.  Justin will be finished with his coursework in December and has to complete a lab in the spring...and then we will graduate together!  We've been celebrating every little anniversary...first it was our one-week, then two, and then yesterday, a whole month.  I can't believe it's been that long already.  I feel like we waited forever for our wedding, and now that it has passed, time is flying.  I'm just glad I get to spend it with him.  I've said this before, but it is so true - I'm one lucky gal. 

The first Thanksgiving Justin and I shared together.  2009.

 The apartment is basically finished.  When we moved in, we still had some things to do to finish up the remodel.  The big project we finished up was my art studio, a little area off the second bedroom where we put my art desk and my enormous collection of paints and supplies.  We painted the room yellow and white (and even managed to drop an entire can of primer on the floor at one point - huge mess) and stained the floor and put a top coat on it.  Justin even installed cork boards on the walls (the walls are too thick for tacks) so that I could hang up all of my art work.  I love our little apartment.

Did I mention my best friend drove all the way here from Fort Wayne to go to the midnight premier of "Breaking Dawn:  Part II" with me??  I don't care what anyone says, I love those movies!  This one was amazing, by the way, but "Breaking Dawn:  Part I" will always be my favorite in the series.

Until next time, you can find me working on my soon-to-be-due 20-page paper for my film class.  The semester is almost over!