Class of 2012

A few years ago I decided that I was incredibly bored and my best friend pointed out that going to grad school would fix that. Talk about understatement.
Today I am happy to finally say that I am graduating with a Masters of Business Administration from Seattle University. Commencement is on June 10th and I can't wait. Today I picked up my cap, gown, and hood from school. I put them on as soon as I got home and my husband laughed at me. Neither of us has any idea how to put the hood on correctly. I'm going to have to find a video on YouTube.
I still have two finals I have to pass so I have to spend one last weekend studying. Fortunately the sun went back into hiding so it won't be too hard to stay inside. As happy as I am to be done I am very happy I chose to do this. I've learned a great deal and I've noticed lately the way I think is different. I've met some really interesting people and made some good friends over the last couple years. I even have a job that requires I use my expensive education.
Life is very, very good.

Our First Tree

I convinced Goober to get a real tree this year. It was easy. I simply told him I wanted one and he said okay. I doubt it will be that easy next year.
Last weekend we went to the store and bought a tree stand and lights, then hit a second store for a tree skirt. Afterward we drove over to my in-laws to borrow my father-in-law's truck. They live next to Goober's grandma so he stopped in and helped her with some computer problems.
Once he was done we drove across town to get a tree from the boy scout troop that sets up in Ballard every year. After driving across town Goober pulled up to the lot but had a hard time finding the driveway. He eventually spotted the orange cones and Christmas lights that framed the drive way. After we walked around for a bit Erik realized we were at the wrong lot. We bought a 6ft tall fluffy Douglas Fir.
Sadly the tree people did not put it in a net for use. This resulted in us leaving a trail of needles from the garage door, into the elevator, to our door. Once the mess was cleaned up Goober went to put the nice sturdy stand on the tree. It looks just like the one we had when I was a kid. Unfortunately the stand didn't fit. Our pretty tree turned out to have a very large trunk. So, off to the store.

We swapped the very large truck for my cute little car and drove to the store we originally got our stand at. It was closed so we drove to another one and got in the door two min before closing. Goober decided to be stubborn and looked all over for a stand that was less ugly than the large one that we hoped would fit our tree. Fortunately we have a pretty tree skirt because the large stand is very ugly. It also didn't fit.
The good news is that when I first moved out of my parents house the tool kit my dad gave me included a saw. Goober had to saw off a couple branches and a chunk from the bottom of our tree to get the tree to fit. That's when we realized our trunk was crooked. The bottom portion was straight, the rest was at about a 45 degree angle.
Poor Goober had to take the tree back out of the stand and saw the bottom of the tree again. By then our carpet was covered in needles and sawdust. To make Goober's job worse the tree had been pierced by a metal spoke to keep it standing upright. The tree sap covered the hole this created and hardened. Goober had to saw away at it and then would chip away a chuck of wood. Eventually a wedge of the tree was removed and the straight part of our tree was now crooked.
Four hours after our adventure started our tree was standing up straight. To commemorate our adventure our first ornament is a pretty glass tree... and I'm pretty sure Goober won't let me pick out our tree next year. 

Babies

First, no I am not pregnant. However, I do have babies on the brain. My Goober handled this announcement with ease.

Me: I want a baby
Goober: That's nice
Me: ...
Goober: You have to wait until after we get a puppy, and our apartment doesn't allow pets.
Me: I still want one.
Goober: Honey.
Me: I didn't say it was logical or a good idea right now. Doesn't mean my hormones haven't decided differently.
Goober: Um...

So, yeah. We've been talking babies. We are both in school right now and Goober doesn't have a job. Yesterday we looked at our graduation requirements and we expect that in March of 2012 we will both be graduating. Goober will go on to a four year university, and I will be finally done with homework. Right now that seems like a good time to start trying for a baby.
There are so many things to consider first.
We only have one and for right now that works. It is a two door car though and from experience I can say that those don't work easily with babies and car seats. That means we need to either get rid of it and get a new one, or just get a second car that can accommodate baby and car-seat. Do we stick with one car? If so do we make sure that whomever has the baby has the car? Emergencies and such might mean the need for two cars so the parent with the baby will have transportation.
What about day care? If Goober gets into UW we will have access to campus day care while he is on campus. What that means or entails is something we need to figure out. His mother is close to retirement, but that may not mean she is interested in being a hired nanny for us. What about hiring a professional nanny? What is the cost of daycare centers for infants?
Disposable diapers or cloth? Breast milk or formula?
So many questions...
A good friend of mine just started having similar conversations with her husband. She laughed when I told her I was arguing with myself over babies. Her husband is the one with baby fever and she is trying to be logical about it. She and I got married within a month of each other and we've been hitting milestones together. Looks like with luck we'll continue to do so.

Looking Back

I moved to Seattle three years ago this month. It seems both like yesterday and an age ago. I left behind good friends, good memories, family, and a friendship broken beyond repair. I made very bad decisions in that relationship. I contributed just as much to its destruction as she did. That was almost as hard to face as the fact that I couldn't fix what was wrong. For better or worse the last time I had contact with her was three months before her wedding. Six months after I broke contact with her I moved to Seattle.
When I first got here it was a relief not to have memories of her popping up at every turn. I still thought about her though. It is simply not possible to end a 14 year relationship and not think about the other person. There were days I ached to call her and just hear her voice again, regardless of the fact that we would have just gotten in another fight.
Bit by bit I am forgiving her for all she did and didn't do. Eventually I hope I will stop being bitter and can forgive myself as well. I wonder if she'll ever forgive me. I still do not want to be in contact with her and I am still certain that ending our friendship was the right decision. It does not stop me from missing her. Perhaps it is a good sign that I no longer wish to erase her from my memories entirely. It is easier theses days to recall only  the good things.
While I still have not put back up the pictures of us I can imagine her face effortlessly. I remember her pixy cut white blond hair disappearing in the crowd on the first day we met. I can picture her curls and sparkling eyes as we dressed up to go out on the town. I know her laugh and can hear echos of it when I read the books she gave me. I hope I never forget how hard she and I laughed as we waited on the banks of the Seine for fireworks to start. I won't forget her college graduation party, or how far out of her way she went to be apart of mine.
It wasn't all bad and some of it was amazing. I wonder all the time if she thinks about me. While I don't want her back in my life, I will always miss her and I'm still grateful for having known her.

So far away from where you are
These miles have torn us world's apart
And I miss you
Yeah, I miss you

So far away from where you are
I'm standing underneath the stars
And I wish you were here

I miss the years that were erased
I miss the way the sunshine would light up your face
I miss all the little things
I never thought that they'd mean everything to me

My poor parents

I've spent the last two evenings watching my newest guilty pleasure. It is the tv show I loved in high school. My husband is thoroughly entertained by how much I love this terrible show. He is also slightly offended.
He absolutely loves what he calls "awesome" movies. Movies like Big Trouble in Little China and Hudson Hawk. He likes to torture me with them. At least I call it torture. He calls it introducing me to "amazingly awesome" films.
This is why he is upset. He claims my newest entertainment is on par with these horrendous films. I just laugh at him and tell him he is wrong. My awesome show is worth watching and his movies are not. He retaliated by tickling me. Which is totally unfair since he isn't ticklish.
However, that isn't my point. My point is my poor parents willingly put up with this show the entire four years it was on. I even remember my mom recording it for me, which means they had to endure it twice. I must have been loved because honestly, this show is terrible.
I still love it.

Ramblings

During my husband's last week of work he managed to pick up a cold. He graciously shared it with me. At first I managed to avoid this gift but eventually caught it about a week after he did. Unfortunately this was the weekend that we went to Victoria, BC. It was a gorgeous weekend and despite my budding cold it was very romantic. Victoria is a beautiful city and there is a lovely walk around the harbor that lead to a couple of cute parks I was able rest in. We followed the walk to a cute waterfront that had a fantastic fish and chip spot among a couple of other small businesses. One even sold raw fish so you could feed a couple of seals that seemed to live there.
When we got back we received word that while we were gone our friend's wife had finally had their baby. They had a cute baby boy nicknamed Sprout. Sprout is absolutely adorable and as soon as I'm over my cold I'm going to pinch his adorable little rolls. We've already gotten him a cute little towel that has a hood and is decorated with little duckies. Tomorrow my husband is headed over to their house to help finish putting together furniture for the nursery.
Yesterday we went to the Sea Food Festival in Ballard. It was fun to walk around and see the arts and crafts booths and trying to decide what to snack on. The longest line was for the bacon wrapped scallops. They smelled heavenly even with my cold. My husband is sadly allergic to seafood so he opted for a viking ice cream sunday. It came with a chocolate viking on top of the whip cream. He looked like an adorable little kid eating it.
While so far our summer has been leisurely and enjoyable today was sad. A few months ago my in-laws found out that their dog's kidney was failing. He's been on medication but he started refusing to take them and deteriorated quickly. Today after taking a couple turns for the worse in the past couple days he was put to sleep. The dog has been a buddy to my husband. He would look very offended whenever I sat next to my husband on the in-laws couch. Apparently  he believed that I was in his spot and would sometimes try to get in between us.
Next week is the annual family camping trip. This year a few of our friends are coming with us and I'm looking forward to it. One couple, Biggie and his wife, are bringing their pugs. Should prove for an interesting trip. I'm in charge of supplying the smores supplies. My cousin-in-law is bringing his swashbuckling skewer. Can't wait to take pics of that.
In other news one of my favorite high school series is on Netflix. It is about as bad as I remember it and I'm having a blast torturing my husband by watching it. Its bringing back a million memories of drooling over the male lead with my friend Shorty. The writing is bad, but typical for a tween market. The acting is a joke, but again typical for the market. Still, I love it and I'm off to watch more.

Spoiled

My Husband cleans our coffee pot. We have a little four cup coffee pot that makes just enough for the two of us in the morning. A friend of ours gave us a fancy coffee grinder that can grind exactly the amount that you want. It is programmable but we almost always forget so he tends to start it while getting ready.
He's also the one that does the hand washing. I'm in charge of loading, running, and unloading the dishwasher. Except from time to time he will start the dishwasher for me. When he does he makes sure to include our small coffee pot.
I never remember to clean the coffee pot. It can get gross, but before it gets bad he cleans it. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal. To me it is. It is one of the small things he does that makes me feel spoiled.
Yes, I'm a very happy newlywed and I still can't believe I'm lucky enough to have him.