What else is new?

I've been slackerville lately.

so much has been going on that I don't even know where to begin.

we got back about a week ago from visiting L's new nephew (YAY) in florida!

Miller James King.

he is perfection

seriously.

the gift of life is so amazing to be that I couldn't help but get emotional at the sight of this little miracle that we are blessed with.

I genuinely feel so blessed that I get to be a part of this baby's life

and I love every second of watching his parents oogle over him!

beyond words.

we spent our time in florida with miller

loving on him and absorbing all the moments we could

before it was time to leave.

also,

we finally started working on the house!

I think I'm going to do before and after pictures when we're finished.

y'all, the people that lived there before were nasty.

really nasty.

(aside from the fact I think they participated in illegal activities)

the kitchen cabinets were covered in layers of grease.

carpet had all kinds of nastyness on it.

walls had grease and tacky paint.

yuck.

luckily, we've slowly been improving and just the thought of the finished product is motivation enough to keep working on it. 

unfortunately, I won't be able to help as much as I did this last week because...

I got a job! 

after about a month of job searching I got a j-o-b. 

I'm incredibly excited and love my coworkers already

(today was my first day). 

my boss and some coworkers took me out to lunch and I loved getting to know them

a little more (they're awesome, btw).

a part of me is slightly intimidated because of all the information there is to absorb

but I feel pretty confident that I'll get a good handle of it all.

It helps that everyone is so darn nice and helpful.

The only downside is the commute (about 35-45 minutes with traffic).

It honestly wasn't as bad of a drive as I expected.

I'm really looking forward to continue training and start doing some hands on work!

L is still on the job hunt for a teaching position. 

he's been contacted by the district he wants to work for in reference to his references (hehe) and got that taken care of. 

hopefully that means they are taking a look at his resume!

he's continued to apply to different schools (now private schools included). 

he is meant to teach, so hopefully something comes up or else I think he may lose it.

seriously.

patience is not his best quality ;)

in the mean time,

we are still living at my parent's house.

as grateful and appreciative as i am that we are able to stay here and save tons of money (no rent)

I have to say I am pretty excited for the day we

get to have our own home again.

we are expected to move in late august/early september.

FINGERS CROSSED x2385029385029385

I am so grateful for the life that I live and for the people I love.

V.

Currently.

Currently, we are living in Texas with my parents while we

wait to be able to work on our house.

L is on the job hunt looking for teaching positions in the area.

We didn't realize how stressful it would be.

How does this process normally work anyway?

He knew a girl that got hired two days before schools started, but surely they give more notice than that regularly?

We have a small army of people who have connections that are doing what they can to help him get his foot in the door somewhere and I am just praying something comes out of it!

Poor guy gets frustrated waiting around.

I am also on a job hunt.

I have an interview on Monday at a staffing company that I hope works out.

They're doing behavioral interviewing and I am intimidated as hell.

Lord, help me!

In the mean time, we've really been enjoying being around family and having time off. 

Before we know it we'll both be busy working and fixing up the house that I think it's important to enjoy the freedom we have now.

We have been exploring the city little by little.

We went to Ikea. 

Obviously.

Our future couches have already been picked out!

TIDAFORS Corner Sofa. 

We're so in love.

I actually purchased a few things while we were there that I couldn't walk away from.

ROMANTISK Tray $9.99

OVANTAD Vase. I got four for about $.50 each!

REKTANGEL Vase $1.99

I can't wait to actually remove these items from my trunk and put them to use.

We haven't even been here a month

so there really hasn't been too much going on.

Once we close on the house, that will be a totally different story.

We want to get as much done ASAP so we can get

moved in and settled.

I am now in the mood to do a post on home decor wants.
hmmmmm.

I love new beginnings. 

-V

Love, It's nice to meet you.

 It's weird.

I still find myself puzzled at my attitude towards love.

Lord knows I am a hopeless romantic.

I believe in happily ever after.

Prince Charming?

Sure.

Why not, right?

Anyway, 

despite how I've always felt about love

I always acted differently.

Anytime my feelings were reciprocated I ran away like it was it was the plague. 

How do I make sense of that?

I got exactly what I wanted.

I got what I day dreamed about in class (lol) and thought about all day long.

The boy I like, likes me.

Why wasn't it ever good enough?

I'm not going to get into my entire family story because 

a) I get tired of telling it

b) I get annoyed when I tell it

but, basically: 

my parents divorced and while there is no need to get into details, there was an affair involved. 

(side note: my heart breaks for anyone that has ever been in a similar situation)

Now, I don't know if I am somehow damaged because of this unfortunate situation...but surely it had some kind of effect on me?

You obviously can't control who you like, but I remember always disliking my feeling of vulnerability. 

I didn't like that someone could potentially "hurt" me and I almost always anticipated the worst before anything ever began.

Nothing ever worked.

When I left for college I began dating and although my fears faded and I was more open, nothing lasted. 

I knew very early on whether or not this person was going to be special to me.

They never were.

I didn't want to waste my time or theirs.

Nothing ever worked. 

Then, I met L.

My breath of fresh air.

I can't stand how cheesy this (and probably the rest of this post) sounds

but I will never forget the moment I met him.

My world stopped.

Listen, as much of a hopeless romantic as I was/am..love at first sight? Really? 

If I was certain such a thing existed, this moment was the closest I had/have ever come to such a feeling. 

(side note: He was brushing his teeth when I was introduced to him..no joke.)

Problem?

He was "talking" to someone at the time.

Heartbroken?

Pretty much.

I'm not that "oh, I'll make him mine"-type of girls.

Not my personality, at all.

We hung out in a (kind of) large group and interacted a bit, but nothing special.

He was talking with his ex (his most serious relationship at the time) about getting back together. I remember my last night in Stillwater and my friend (who was dating his brother) and I spent the night at their house because they were dropping me off at the airport hella early in the morning. 

L and I had to sleep in the living room (his bedroom for the summer). 

He let me have the couch. 

How romantic.

I remember we stayed up late talking. I worked at restaurant at the time and I remember he mentioned that he wanted to visit Houston and eat at the restaurant. 

What a smooth talker ;)

Then he mentioned his ex.

He went on to tell me a little about their relationship and how conflicted he was because he was very apprehensive about getting back together.

"This is it", I thought.

My opportunity to tell him to not waste his time and to start fresh was just handed to me so beautifully.

Couldn't have been easier.

Well, I couldn't do it. 

I gave him the most honest response I could have.

I can't remember the conversation verbatim, but I basically told him that it's understandable to go with what is comfortable and what you know.

They dated for a few years, so (in my opinion) if he felt like it was worth fighting for then he should.

He listened to what I had to say and then kept talking.

He talked so much I fell asleep.

While he was talking.

(side note: he STILL never lets me live that down)

I remember feeling so good and so bad.

I felt like I sabotaged any chance I had.

Not a fun feeling, by the way.

The next morning, I hugged him good-bye knowing it would most likely be the last time I saw him.

It sucked, but I had accepted it.

We have talked every day since.

He obviously didn't get back together with his girlfriend. 

We got to know each other and talked NON STOP.

I'll never forget the first time we talked on the phone and he...didn't...stop...talking.

lol.

Seriously. He talked the entire time. So funny.

I'll never forget how I felt when he first told me he was falling for me, or where we were when he told me he loved me (where I'm sitting at the moment). 

For a girl that can't seem to remember much, I can't forget this.

In a month and a half, we'll be going on four years.

It has not been perfect, but that is what makes it so special.

We hit some bumps, but we fought hard to make it work and it was completely worth it.

We didn't have any kind of obligation to each other, but we wanted it to work so badly we worked through it and have come out so much stronger.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

L&V: non-perfectly.

-V