What We Did: {Moved}

Over 1200 miles and 20 hours later, thanks to our folks, we made it back to Utah. With nearly all of our possessions intact! {We did have a pair of sheets that decided to kick the bucket.}

It was once again brought to light that Abby is quite the crazycontrolfreak. Moving is rough for me. So hopefully we can keep this moving across the country thing to a minimum.

It has been so wonderful to be able to spend so much time with family since we have been back.
I love them.

However, even though we know this place like the back of our hands, it still doesn't feel like home. Oklahoma still feels more like home. But I don't live there. And I don't really live here. And in a week we move temporarily to Washington D.C.

Just call us nomads, for it is what we are.

What I Consider To Be In The Top 5 Best Days: {Law School Graduation}

I feel so out of practice. This whole typing a blog thing seems almost foreign.

But I am so glad to be back! My computer still hasn't been hooked up, but hopefully my posts can be a little more consistent than they have been.

There are several days of updates to come, but one of the best updates...

That handsome man standing next to me in that picture, yes, my husband, has officially graduated from Law School.

Yes, I am married to a lawyer.

Okay, okay, he hasn't actually taken/passed the bar exam yet. But no matter.

Just call me Mrs. Esquire.

May 12, 2012.

It was a dreary day in Oklahoma. Downtown provided the graduation venue with construction and mud. But nothing could dampen our spirits. He was finished. We were finished. Law school would no longer rule our every waking thought. Our folks had come to town. And we were so grateful to have their love and support.

Mike's brother and his family had also driven up from Houston, giving Mike's parents quite the joyous surprise.

Even being surrounded by those that are dearest to us, nothing could distract me from the pride that I felt. That was my husband. That man up their being hooded; receiving his Law degree.

The effort that he put in to his education suddenly all became worth it. Every moment I felt lonely. Every $300 book. It was all for this. This joy of being educated. This joy of seeing his efforts be rewarded.

Now on to our next adventure!

What I've Been Doing: {Honestly, What Haven't I Been Doing?}

Family Coming to Town

Packing

Moving

Law School Graduation

...

Life could not be crazier right now. But I love every second of it! 

I am still here, and still thinking of all the things that I need to catch up on. And I promise that when I get more than a handful of minutes, I will be posting all kinds of fun details.

Much more to come!

What Is Worth Celebrating: {Last Day}

Short and sweet.

Mike took his last Law school final today.

He's done!

Done!!!

What My Life Looks Like: {In One Picture}

This is the mess in which is currently my home.
Because in 10 days, we stuff our entire life into a moving truck and drive out of Oklahoma forever.
Then we throw it all into storage and fly to DC where we will proceed to live out of suitcases until further notice.
My life is so weird.

And starting next week, posts are going to be getting pretty scarce around these parts.
I'm sorry friends, but life comes first.
Don't worry, I'll be taking many pictures along the way to share with you all when my life gets back in some form of order.

What I Appreciate: {Working}

I'm not a job person. I have never liked working. I don't want a career. I went to school and got an education because I knew that was the smart thing to do. I did not go to school and get an education so that I could help support a family. That's Mike's job. And he's completely okay with that. He wants to. And he wants me to stay home.

I have been asked many times, by many different people if I plan on sitting for the CPA exam. And I honestly considered it. I thought about returning to school to get my Masters in Accounting. I prayed and prayed about what to do.

Mike knows more than anyone, I'm not the most fun person when I am in school. I had to work really hard to get good grades in college. Therefore resulting in a stressed, wanna-rip-my-hair-out attitude. But suddenly, you graduate, and you forget all the bad stuff. I imagine it's quite like child labor. But after much prayer, and remembering what it was that I really wanted for myself and what we had always wanted together as a couple, I decided to not go back.

I have never once regretted that decision.

I consider myself successful. I don't need a CPA license to tell me that.

A few weeks ago at work, we had our annual reviews. I am known around the office as being "the favorite". I hate that term. I don't think I am the favorite. But I do know that I am quite the brown-noser. I like being liked. Of course I am going to do everything I need to do for my boss to like me.

{Picture Taken July 2009}

That being said, my review was first out of all the employees in the Accounting department. Annual reviews are scary. Like the feel-like-I'm-getting-up-to-bear-my-testimony feeling.

Immediately after walking in the room, I was put at ease.

"Well Abby, I have a really hard time coming up with things to criticize you about."

I was shocked. Coming out of this guys mouth, that is quite the compliment.

He continued to give me positive feedback throughout the entire review. I left feeling elated.

To accompany our annual review, we also receive our annual raise. Because the raise doesn't go into effect until the end of the month, I didn't think they would be giving me one. My last day is two weeks from today. I figured they would think there was no point because I would only have about a week and a half at the new rate.

Boy was I wrong.

I got a great raise. So much so that when I looked down at the paper, I didn't even see the correct number. My mind changed the numbers to what I thought it would be.

Yes, there was a double and triple check.

I love the company that I work for. And no, not just because they gave me a good raise to enjoy for a week and a half. But because it's just a good company. And a great job. I have learned so much from being in this position.

My boss was always the type to give as little information as possible. The entire year and a half that I worked there, I always complained about the poor communication. Why doesn't he just tell me what I need to know to do this project?? Because he was teaching me. I couldn't get past the frustration at the time to see that. I feel like I learned and retained more at this job than I did during my entire Bachelors degree.

I'm grateful for opportunities to work. Even though I hate work. Even though providing for us during a time when Mike needs me to is sometimes downright frustrating. Work gave me the opportunity to prove myself. To prove that I actually did learn something in college. To prove that I actually can contribute to the income of this family if I need to.

And even though I wish I could say this is my last job ever, it's not. We're on to a new city where I will be on to finding a new job. Where I will be learning something new, and proving even more that I am capable of these things. And when the day finally comes that I can quit my job and not have to find another, I can look back and be glad. Glad that I had the opportunity to be a working girl so that I can truly appreciate being home with our children.

What We Tried: {OK Bucket List-Blue Bell Ice Cream}

Let it be known that I have a bucket list.

There is also a Oklahoma specific bucket list.

We were able to cross something off a couple weekends ago.

Eat Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Its some big name brand ice cream out here, that is super expensive. That 1/2 gallon container that I'm holding is regular price $6.00. {$6.00!!}

It went on sale so I figured that was my chance.
Picking a flavor was tough. But give me peanut butter and chocolate and I'm usually one happy chica.

The verdict?
Totally not worth the money.
I would pick Great Value over Blue Bell any day, even if they were the same price.
Why?
It wasn't creamy. It tasted like they made it with fat-free milk. If I'm going to eat the calories, I want it to at least taste like I'm eating the calories. Am I right or am I right?

But crossing something off the list always feels good, doesn't it?

Blogs

I blog stalk. Like, a lot. But not people I know. Its the people that I don't know that really intrigue me. And whats even more enticing is when they are young, married people. Like me. With really no purpose to blog, which is even better because then the posts are all just fun randomness.
But actually, that really wasn't the point of this blog. The point was, do you know how many blogs I come across that are wives with husbands in law school? You wouldn't believe it, if I actually had a number to tell you. The bar results for those who took the bar in Oklahoma in July just came out a few days ago. Mike was eager to see the list because he knows quite a few people that took it. And here in the big OK, they post that list online, names and all. I say thats a little insensitive. At the top of the list they give statistics. 381 people took the bar in July, 317 people passed. Now, the point I make, is not the margin of those not passing. The point I make is they offer the bar twice a year: February and July. Now if each time the bar is taken, 320 students are passing, that is 640 students a year. Oklahoma has two law schools. So with states that are bigger and have more law schools, that number is even higher. Now tell me, where in the country are there 640 new, just graduated, no experience {minus internships} attorneys being hired every year? Because that is the state that I need to live in.

The statistics on law schools are quite crazy. I don't have numbers but I have read enough about it to know that there are WAY too many law schools in this country generating way to many attorneys for the small number of jobs that are actually available. Every school within a University has job placement statistics. These statistics will tell you what percentage of students have jobs within a certain amount of months after graduation. Did you know that law school job placement statistics are not based off of jobs placed as an attorney? So when you see 95% job placement, most likely only a small percentage of those people are actually working as lawyers, whereas the rest could be working retail for all we know. Isn't that disappointing? Mike is amazing, and I have no doubt that he will work his tail off finding a job to pay off the mounting student loans. Plus, going to law school does not mean you have to be a lawyer. Just having it on your resume can create many different opportunities.

We are kind of ahead of the game for our age. Mike will graduate law school at 26. Most returned missionaries our age are just starting law school. Mike is just good at school and wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. Five and a half years for his ENTIRE seven+ year college education. Yeah, he's awesome. But not the point {sorry, brag tangent}. As I heard of friends from high school/friends spouses from high school getting ready and leaving for law school this Fall, I almost wanted to scream out to them, "Are you sure?!" "Do you really want to get into this?" "Because its really not all roses and daisies, like they make it seem." And I'm not talking about the law school part {everyone knows that part sucks}. I'm talking about the looking-for-a-job-thats-not-there-and-even-when-you-find-it-you'll-make-less-than-half-what-you-were-led-to-believe-you-would-being-making-post-graduation part.

Depressing, right?

Well I should probably stop talking. Because, you know, we are just beginning this whole finding a job part. Who knows how hard it will really be. Who knows how much money we will actually be making. Who cares. Okay, I do.....a little if you can't tell. But Mike will "guard and protect my heart" {haha, oh Kasey, you kill me}. But really, Mike will find a job, or two {he said that, not me}. Because those loans come due, and they don't really care if you are working as an attorney or at Sonic {rollerblading is good exercise, and come on, it's just plain fun}.

Don't get us wrong, we are super grateful for this opportunity, and Mike really enjoys the things that he learns about. And there are a lot of good attorneys out there. Now we just need someone to get us a connection with one of them so they can hire Mike. Anyone? Bueller? No beating around the bush here people, we need a job.

Simply

I have no idea why of all the law schools that Mike applied to, and got accepted to, we ended up in Oklahoma. Some times I love it here, sometimes I hate it here, other times it doesn't really matter, because its just another place just like everywhere else. Sometimes I wonder why we didn't go to Pepperdine. I could be living in Malibu, enjoying the beach, the warmth and the sun....and the visitors! Oh how it would be to actually have people want to come and see us. Sometimes I wonder why we didn't go to Connecticut. Be completely surrounded by history. We would be two hours from NYC and two and a half hours from Boston. For some reason, out of the 9 or so schools that Mike got accepted to, including the University of Utah, it seemed so easy to just cross most off the list. The Lord wanted us in Oklahoma.

We have made a good life here. We have some amazing friends. We have a beautiful home. I have a good job. And most importantly, Mike is happy with his decision. If we could make the decision all over again, who knows if we would still pick Oklahoma. But for now, we are doing just fine. We make a decent living, in a safe area, while Mike continues to receive his education. And when he graduates in May of 2012, we have absolutely no idea what the Lord will have in store for us. Maybe we'll go back to Utah, maybe we'll stay here, maybe Mike will continue his education and we'll move somewhere else completely. In the long run, we do know what we want out of life, and where we want to be, but this in between time seems to be the most unpredictable. We are simply doing the best that we can with what we have been given. Shouldn't that be the phrase that we all live by? Simply doing the best that we can with what we have been given.

Finals really are awful, my boss really is strange, and sometimes, life really is hard. But we have things like a weekly episode of Modern Family, or fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, that remind us that amidst all the crappy things, there are still really good things too. Not too mention, we have each other. Isn't that just the best one of all?

This blog really makes me sound like I am having a bad day, but I'm not. Just a day of reflection. Always wondering why life is the way that it is. Why we are guided to certain areas in life, or why we are dragged through certain trials. Simply put, because God is trying to teach us something.

I said to Mike the other day, 2010 has been the best year of my life. And it has been. I also told him that there were only a few days left in the year so he better not screw it up. But its true. I have learned a lot about myself this year. I have learned a lot about Mike this year. And together as a couple we have matured and grown.

Now off to make myself a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies....