My Baby Sis All Grown Up

I can still remember when my little sister Charlee was just a little tom boy running around and showing up all of the neighbor boys on a skateboard and throwing a football. Now Poof...she's a beautiful young lady all grown up and headed to college. I am so excited that she decided to go to Snow. Ryan teases me that I am vicariously living through Charlee and getting way too excited for her to go to Snow than I should be. I have some awesome memories of Snow College and I hope has a great experience there too. Last Friday, my mom and I helped her pack up the car and drove her down to my favorite little town of Ephraim to send her off to the next chapter of her life. My awesome Grandma snuck into her apartment at Snow Gardens and left flowers on the table and a cute package to welcome her to college before we got there. She is so so lucky to have our Grandparents and other family so close! Friday night we all stayed up until 1am helping her unpack and get her room decorated. We met some of the Ambassadors (who thought I was the one starting college...I'm flattered) and it brought back some fun memories of my Snow College years. We had a fun weekend helping her get settled in and spending time with the family, but leaving was so much harder than I expected. It was so weird to leave my baby sister at her college apartment knowing that she's on her own now. It will be so weird to not have her so close to home. I will definitely miss her, but I know she is going to have so much fun! I am so proud of her and am so excited for her to experience college. Now that I'm a member of the Snow College Alumni Board, I'll have another good excuse to go down and check up on her. Love you Char and miss you already! 

Char decorating her room

The bathroom she's sharing with her friends Kenzi and Kelsey

Her pretty flowers from Granny

I don't miss small college closets

Char in her cute new room

My favorite ladies

Andrea, Mal and Kenz

Our college girl and her new room

P.S. I remember when I left for college, I drove away in my Jeep so excited to start my new adventure as my mom and cousin Amy stood in my driveway crying. I didn't get it then, but now I do. This time it was Char driving away while my Mom and I stood there and cried. 

My New Adventure

For a while now, I have had a little dream of opening up an Etsy shop and selling my homemade crafts and things that I build. And.... since I haven't been working the last week or so, I've spent a lot of time in my shop and craft room making things. So, I decided to take on a new adventure and open up my shop to try to bring in a little bit of income until I can find a job. Heck, I would love for it to grow to a full blown business that keeps me busy full-time. That's the dreamer in me coming out. It's honestly been a ton of work getting everything built and my shop set up, but as of today, it's officially up and running! www.etsy.com/shop/pinkpeonydecor

I am thankful for all of the support I have already received from friends and family. Their encouragement makes the work worth it. I only have a few items in my shop right now, but I have set a goal to add at least one new item to the shop weekly for the next month. I love creating new things and pinterest has a lot of fun ideas too that I'm going to try. So here's to my new adventure! 

Goodbye Roseman

So, I made a big change last week....I said goodbye to Roseman University after 4 years. After a lot of thought, prayers, and support from my husband and family, I decided it was time for me to quit my job and find a new opportunity.  Over the past four years, I have learned so much, worked very hard to make the Admissions Office what it is today, and I made some great friendships. However, after many empty promises and a not so positive work environment, I decided I need to move on to a more positive place for me. My last day was Friday, August 1st. It was very surreal to pack up my office and walk out of the place I have spent so much time at the past four years. I put my heart into that place and I really loved a lot of things about my job. It was so great to be able to make a difference in the lives of the students. I will miss working with the them and doing what I love, but I am also looking forward to finding a great new opportunity and adventure. It's a little scary, but exciting at the same time. So now I am a stay at home wife until I can find another opportunity. But don't worry, I feel like I have been even busier since I have been off. I haven't gone to our pool once or sat down to watch an episode of my favorite, CSI. I have kept super busy crafting and doing projects around the house. Oh and job hunting, that's a full-time job in itself. 

So, here's to a new adventure! I hope I can find something great! 

PS. I have to say how thankful I am to have such a supportive husband. Through this experience, I have realized even more how great of a man he is. He has been my cheerleader the whole way and I know he cares so much about my happiness. He was willing to take on the challenge of having only one income during the time that I am jobless, and I am amazed at his positivity. I am so thankful for him and couldn't have made this change without his support and love.

The view from my office window

My cute office all packed up and empty

My name plate

Beautiful flowers from my sweet co-worker Karen