Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Already Christmas!?!?

Wow, I think I say this every year around this time but man, this year flew by! Seems like just a few weeks ago we were packing up our stuff and moving back to Alabama. Truth is, that was almost 1 year ago. We have so many things to be thankful for this year, as usual. We got to move back home, we have been blessed to get to spend a lot more time with family and friends because of the move, we bought a house, we added a new niece, we've got another niece on the way. The list just goes on and on. In the last month and a half, Zach accepted a new job and moved up to Poplar Bluff, Missouri...AKA Nowhereville, USA. Nah, it's not that bad. We are thankful it is only 5 1/2 hours from Birmingham. There's not much to do in Poplar Bluff but at least its not 14 hours away in Kansas City.

Just this past weekend I went up to PB to visit Zach. I left work in Forestdale at 3:15pm and pulled into PB at 8:45pm. Its not a bad drive at all either. It was so nice to spend the weekend together. Zach had been working nights (5pm-3am) but found out Thursday that they were moving him back to day shift which we are both happy about. He will be in charge of layout. We spent a lot of time just hanging out. We didn't really have any engagements that we had to attend so we just focused on spending quality time together, which means we did a lot of wandering around Walmart :) I had a blast and was sad to leave but thankfully they are letting Zach come home for Christmas. He is planning to leave PB around lunchtime Friday and head back some time Monday. It'll be nice to have him home. I know the dogs will be super excited to see him.

This year, we are having my immediate family Christmas at our house because Mom and Dad's basement flooded and there is not enough room upstairs for everyone. Not comfortably at least. Zach family will also be up for the weekend so we will have my entire immediate family and his immediate family. I hope I can get all of my gifts made and wrapped as well as the house cleaned in time. There's so much to do but so little time. To top it all off, I am having to make up for CEs I didn't get completed to renew my Pharmacy Tech license by December 31st. I am a professional when it comes to procrastinating. I'm confident it will all come together.

Merry Christmas,

Zach and Maleah

Saturday, December 10, 2011

I've been so tense...

I feel like I need to get some things off my chest. When we moved back to Alabama back in January, Zach quickly found a job with Hoar Construction working on the new Children's Hospital in Birmingham. We knew when he got hired that his position as safety coordinator was a temporary position but it was a good job because he could potentially get a more permanent job with Hoar which is a good company. We kept waiting and waiting but never heard anything about a more permanent job so Zach decided to start looking elsewhere.

He got hired on with MJ Harris who is a company based in Birmingham (yay!) who specializes in building health facilities; mostly hospitals. The pay was good and benefits were good but the downfall was that he would have to travel; something that comes with the job for most people in construction. His first assignment would be a hospital in Poplar Bluff, Missouri; about 6 1/2 hours from our house we just bought. The project is supposed to take 13+ months. Before taking the job, we discussed what accepting the job would mean for us. Clearly, both of us would like for me to travel with Zach wherever his job takes him but realistically, I just can't. If I ever want to have a real career, other than a Pharmacy Tech at Walgreens, I have to get my degree. I decided a while back that I want to do special education. I have always had a heart for people with disabilities but have always been discouraged away from it. I realize that if I don't go back to school now, I probably never will. So, as nervous as it makes me, my plan is to go to Wallace State in Hanceville and get the rest of my pre-requisites then transfer to UAB to get my degree in teaching. I really need to start this coming spring but I feel like I have so much other -for the lack of a better word- crap on my mind, I don't know where to start.

With Christmas 3 weeks away, I haven't done much shopping/crafting, I've got to finish my CEs to renew my license, Zach is 400 miles/6 1/2 hours from home, trying to decorate for Christmas, keep my dogs from tearing up my entire house, trying to get the house finished, working 40 hours a week, and on top of all of that, Mama C fell and broke her hip the other day and had to have a hip replacement. She's so frail making the surgery even more major than it would be for most people. I know I don't have it anywhere near as rough as a lot of people but I don't hardly know which direction to walk. I will be so glad when I am back in Zach's arms. Thankfully my boss has been VERY understanding and has given me a 4 day weekend for Christmas so that I can spend time with Zach. Plus, I have a 3 day weekend this coming weekend so I am going up to PB, MO to spend the weekend with Zach. Unfortunately, Zach got moved to the night shift so our schedules are going to be off when I go see him. Hopefully I can have some Christmas crafting to keep me busy while he sleeps.

Well, as much as I'd like to go to bed, I've got two stinky dogs who need baths desperately! Adios!