Poor Blog!

I am a terrible blogger! It's been over four months since my last post and almost seven since my last update. Hopefully, I will get in the habit of updating in the next few months.

Look for an awesome update in the next week or so!

Project 365

Tonight (or tomorrow), I will be starting Project 365! After seeing two friends start the project, I have decided to jump on the bandwagon. The goal of Project 365 is to take a new picture every day. It is a unique way to look back on your year and document your experiences from a different angle.

Since I rarely post on this blog anyways, I will be adding my Project 365 posts in addition to my normal ones. I love using pictures to blog anyways. A picture is worth a thousand words, and they express so much more than I could ever articulate. Our first wedding anniversary is this weekend, so I think this will be a great way to start our second year of marriage!

When Everything Falls Into Place...

February was not a good month. Obviously, life could have been worse, but it seemed like there were so many road blocks and question marks. Tons of school stress. More work stress than I had before the conference. Finances. Health issues. An insurance debacle that ended up costing us a lot of money and a considerable amount of stress. It just seemed like we kept getting bad news.

March, on the other hand, has been a wonderful month! First, I finally got my raise. I had found out it was coming in November, but it took several months to go through. Then, we got even better news. Chen got admitted to the ASU/Barrow Neurological Institute Neuroscience PhD program! While we were excited, we were unsure of how we were going to pay for the program and living expenses. He had applied for the BNI scholarship, but, with seven applicants and two spots, we were a bit nervous.

Then, earlier this week, Chen found out that he got the scholarship! Not only will BNI pay his tuition, but also give us a generous monthly stipend for the first year, health insurance, and guarantee that he will have a job for the next FIVE years! I am so proud of him! He has put in so much work in this field, and it will be an amazing experience.

Now, Chen is busy trying to get everything finished so he can graduate. He will be doing his Interdisciplinary Studies internship at the Foundation! That's right, we're going to be coworkers for eight weeks! With a few more online classes, he should be done on time.

Now that we have a plan for the next few years, everything seems to be falling into place! We are so grateful for the opportunity Chen has to attend graduate school! I think, this month, I'm just all around grateful.

After 8 Months...Finally an Update!

So...I haven't posted on this wonderful blog since the beginning of May. Quite a lot has happened since then. I could go into details, but that would take forever. Pictures are much easier.

Here's what we've been up to since my last post...

Graduating from ASU - May 15

Our Wedding - May 16

Hawaiian Honeymoon - May

(Waikiki Beach at sunset)



(Riding mopeds up the coast)

(We kayaked to the Mokulua Islands)



(Snorkling at Lanikai Beach)

We moved into the house in June/July and have been slowly getting things settled. Downstairs is coming along well. We've painted the living room and most of the front room. By the end of February, we should finally have furniture in the front room! Upstairs is still a work in progress. We also have two new furry editions to our house. This is our baby, Sasha.

She is quite the diva, but we love her. We are also taking care of Sadie, a cat that I found at work. She is a sweet little Calico! We are trying to find her a home once she gets completely well.

As for everything else...we have been pretty busy the past few months. Chen just started his last *full time* semester of college. He will hopefully graduate this summer.

I am working full-time at the Foundation. It's been quite crazy around the office! In December, I went to Anaheim for 10 days for the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference. It was stressful, difficult and tiring, but it was worth it! There were only five Foundation employees running a conference of 7,000 people. Needless to say, it was nice to be home. I have agreed to continue working at the Foundation through December 2010. After that, it's up in the air.

I suppose this is a long enough update. Hopefully, I will get back into the blogging habit soon.

T Minus 9 Days (and a few hours)...

That's right! Almost a week until the wedding!!! I'm so excited!

Things are finally looking up. My grandma finally go released from the hospital after three weeks! I'm so glad she's home and that the surgeries went well. Wedding plans are also pretty much finalized! Also, I got permission to start working full time at the foundation. Since the Evolution of Psychotherapy conference is 7 months, they're going to need all of the help they can get! This unfortunately means I will have to go to Anaheim for an all expenses paid trip in December. Darn. ;) I'm not exactly sure what my job title will be, but it's good to know I have something.

And, last but not least...WE GOT THE HOUSE! That's right, the bank gave the final approval this week. The closing date is May 29th, so it looks like we'll be moving at the end of June or the beginning of July! I'm so excited! Everything is happening so fast and all at once. I'm still nervous about graduating because I don't know exactly where I'm going to end up. Thankfully, the rest of the pieces are coming together so I can take my time to figure things out.

When It Rains...

I haven't posted for a while, mostly because I'm trying to avoid negative/angry/confused ramblings. The past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride. Up, down, up, down, down, down. Mostly down. It seems like when one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. Family, health, school, work, car...everything. But...I'm still standing.

Now, I think I'm even entering my zen phase. I'm getting married in three weeks! Life is good! While everything else seems to falling apart, other things are actually coming together. This is a time where I can look at life from a half full or half empty perspective. I guess I'll take the half full glass this time...