5 Years in the Making

If you had asked me five years ago where I would be today, I would tell you that I had no idea. Truth is, five years ago today, my life changed in a way I never saw coming.

At the age of 18, I was finding who I was outside of high school. I was searching for what I really wanted out of life…and I knew that included a bigger and happier future than the one I was heading toward at the time.

So that’s when it happened.

Henry came into my life like a sunny blue sky after a hurricane. Five years ago today, we went on our first date. I wasn’t even sure if it was a date at first. We had gone months without any contact after he left for university…was this a friendly hangout where we just catch up…was it a date??? I consider it a date looking back now (he did pay for dinner after all) but I wouldn’t realize the true scope of how my life was about to change until later.

I remember his face when he walked in to pick me up from work that night. It was bright red. He was nervous and excited and I had never seen him smile like that before. I remember laughing so hard the entire time at dinner that I had blisters on the inside of my cheeks from my braces. I remember him trying to make me laugh by driving me off-road in his little beat-up Subaru Legacy that would honk whenever he hit a bump in the dirt. I remember sheer happiness and excitement and a lot of feelings I hadn’t felt in quite some time.

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I haven’t stopped smiling when it comes to Henry since that night. In our half a decade together, we have fallen in love, gotten engaged, moved into our first apartment, adopted our dog Hannah, got married, moved into our second apartment, Henry graduated college, Henry started his career, bought a house, I graduated college, adopted our dog Maggie, and now I’m starting my career.

We have created a life that I would not change for anything. Even when things were tough, we got through it by holding onto one another and giving each other all the love and support we could offer.

So here’s to you, my amazing, wonderful, handsome, hard-working husband. I love you and I thank you for changing my life 5 years ago. You’re a pretty cool guy.

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Changes

So what have I been up to in the last couple of months? I could talk about it for probably an hour and still forget some of the stuff that has been happening in my life!!

Let’s start with the biggest items….

1. Henry and I bought our very own house (!!!!)
2. I GRADUATED COLLEGE!!!

I can’t even believe how crazy 2017 has been for us. We never expected to be buying a house of our own this soon. It was definitely in our 5-year plan, but not our 1-year plan!!

Truth is…rent is expensive!! We really wanted to move out of our one bedroom apartment and get a little more space. We looked at a lot of different apartment complexes and houses for rent around the city and finally decided to look into buying a house instead. Low and behold…we were in great shape to become homeowners!

At the beginning of our home-buying journey, our lender said to us that buying a home is like flying in a plane. You either have a great flight and it is smooth sailing, or it’s a bit harder and you hit some turbulence along the way.

We got the turbulence. It has been great.

Buying a home has been one of the most exciting and stressful things Henry and I have ever done in our lives. When we found the house we wanted to buy, we couldn’t sleep for about 3 days due to the adrenaline that was in our systems. We have experienced every single emotion known to man in regards to our house: happiness, excitement, confusion, anger, and everything in between.. But now that we are moved in and starting to get settled….it has all been worth it.

If you’d like to hear more detail about anything regarding our home-buying experience, please leave a comment and let me know what you’d like me to write about!

Oh…did I mention I also graduated college last weekend??

Well…I GRADUATED COLLEGE LAST WEEKEND!!

I can’t even believe that after being in school for my entire life I am finally done! I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. I would have never been able to do it without the full support of my Husband the last couple years, as well as all of our parents.

I have met so many friends along the way, some that have come and go, and some that will hopefully be friends with me for the rest of my life. I have spent countless nights staying up late to finish projects or write papers. I’ve had way too much coffee and eaten pretty unhealthy when I was in a rush, and most of all…I have created memories that will last me forever.

The last few years I have seen myself grow as a person and a professional. I look back at myself before I started college and remember thinking I had life figured out. But now I know I will never have life figured out. All I can do is continue to educate myself, try to stay humble, and remember that nothing can last forever.

Now that I have more time, I do hope to write more often. Life has been non-stop crazy for me lately, but hopefully with school finishing up I will be able to keep up with my blog better.

I am so excited to see what life has in store for me next. Here’s to a new adventure!

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Life Lately

It’s been awhile since I’ve written much about what is going on in my life. To be honest, I haven’t had much time to do much of anything extra lately. School is in full force, with two tests down and about nine to go for the rest of the semester. So far I’ve submitted about 20 assignments, and I’ve lost my mind only about three times. There’s a career fair coming up where I could potentially find a job for after graduation, there’s networking events, there’s clubs I’m participating in, there’s a whole lot. I hardly even have time to rock climb anymore, but you can bet I try my best to find some time and energy to go every now and then!

I recently became an officer for a club on campus called the Management and Human Resources Association, where I will be in charge of keeping records of attendance and helping out the other officers. I am excited to work alongside my friend Paulina, who is the MHRA president this semester. The club is a great opportunity to learn more about HR, and meet professionals who work in the field. Plus, who doesn’t love having something extra to add to their resume?

There have been so many exciting announcements that have happened in my family lately. Between new babies and new engagements, I am so excited for what next year will bring! I want to say congratulations to both my sister Kadie and my cousin Donna on their new bundles of joy. I can’t wait to do some shopping and buy some cute baby stuff for the new family members.

Also really exciting? My big brother is getting married! He has officially asked Henry and I to stand up there with him on his side as a couple of his Groomsmen. I am so excited to be a part of my brother’s big day, and I am excited to welcome his fiance Christin to our family!

Now I’m off to work after finishing my stats class and getting a new professional headshot done. I hope all of you are having a great week! Let me know what you’ve all been up to in the comments, and be sure to follow for future posts!

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The Final Semester Begins…

Today marks my final First Day of School. As I embark on my final semester of university, there are so many things I have learned through this process…both in class and out of it.

I remember my first day of junior college being so scary. I don’t even remember what classes I took that semester, but I remember being so nervous that I wouldn’t be able to handle going to college. My first day at the university was no different. Walking to class that day, hoping I would make new friends and hoping I would get good grades was way more stressful than I could’ve anticipated. I can’t even tell you how many people I introduced myself to in hopes I would make a new friend, only to have them sit away from me the next class. Yeah…I was THAT person. But you can’t meet new people without putting yourself out there, right??

Over the last few years that I have been pushing to get my B.S. in Management, I have learned so much about business and how to manage a team with integrity. I have also learned how to manage my time and create a 20 page report within a week (don’t procrastinate!) I have met so many friends through college that have become some of my best friends (Shout out to Kami who I met through having every single class together last semester). But most importantly, I have learned that even though college may seem like it is your entire life while you’re in it, nothing lasts forever. College for me is only the first chapter of my adventure into adult life.

So here I am, one last semester to go. Walking onto campus today I still have a slight nervousness about getting adjusted to my new classes. I wonder what I will learn over the next 20 weeks that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I am even more nervous about what is to come once the semester ends and my career life begins…but that is an adventure I will embark on over the new few months. Seeing all the freshmen today trying to find their way reminds me that everyone gets nervous about starting something new. You just have to jump in head first and do your best. Good luck to everyone who is currently starting school or new jobs!

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A Day At The Beach!

It was some sort of miracle that we all had the day off today! I texted our friends about going to Tahoe for a beach day and everyone was able to go. I was so excited! Our schedules have been so busy we haven’t been able to go at all this summer.

We took a trip to the supermarket the night before to stock up on beer and snacks to bring with us. Standing in the beer aisle for 20 minutes as a couple of the guys debated on what type of beer to buy (and they say that women are indecisive…) we ended up buying a few different types to make everyone happy.  Our friends also wanted to purchase some floating tubes so we could float out on the lake.  Apparently, once the back to school section hits the store, it is very hard to find a floating tube. The choices consisted of one person tubes that were $40, and a rectangular floater that is meant to put your cooler on for $4. One friend opted for the fancy tube, and our other friend decided to buy the $4 one to float in and take his chances (honestly, it worked perfectly for $4!)

We left Reno about 9 a.m., thinking that getting to the beach around 10 would be perfect. As it turns out the early bird catches the worm when it comes to space on the beach, so we had to drive for an extra 45 minutes just trying to find a parking spot where we could hike down to the water! We found some space to park our cars near Kings Beach. When we got to the beach, we were able to find a patch of sand to set up camp for the day. We started with some lunch and snacks (Shout out to Andrew for being the real MVP of the day and bringing along some amazing Hershey’s products!!). After we were no longer hangry, we blew up all of our floating tubes and hit the water! We tied all of our tubes together and hung out on the lake until we started to get sunburn. It was so much fun.

I am so happy I was able to spend some great quality time together with some wonderful friends. I bid you farewell for the night, I hope you also had a wonderful Sunday!

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Dear Long Lost Friend

Dear Long Lost Friend,

Hi, how are you? I know it’s been awhile and I’m sorry it’s been so long. To be honest…I really miss you. I miss hanging out with you and laughing at stupid things. I miss our inside jokes and our way of just understanding each other when no one else around us could. Most of all, I miss our friendship.

There wasn’t a specific reason we stopped talking, we just grew apart. Life happens, right? I am so busy all the time with work and school and everything that happens in this crazy life… and I know I put our friendship on hold to pursue those things. I am sorry that I did not make time for you.

I know I haven’t reached out, and I’m sure you have reasons why you haven’t either. Weeks of not catching up turned into months, which turned into years. At this point it is so much easier to just let each other be rather than reaching out and trying to find something in common again. But I want you to know I still care. I see you on social media living your best life, finding true love, finding your dream job, finding happiness. And even though I am no longer part of that equation for you, I am so happy you are thriving.

I really do wish you well. I hope you are following your dreams and doing the things that you’ve always wanted to do. I am watching from afar…cheering for you during your accomplishments and happy for you when you reach new achievements. You deserve the best life possible. And even if we never get the chance to catch up, I hope you know you are always in my heart and I will always consider you a friend.

Love,

Amber

 

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