Blessings

Being married is so totally wonderful.

It's really unbelievable how blessed Cody and I have been in the past weeks since we got married.  I think both of us have been in a little bit of awe as we have watched everything just fall into place for us.  It's almost like our whole dating life together was such a rough road that now that things are going smoothly, it's shocking. 

We are still waiting on schools to decided where Cody will be starting law school.  That's really freaky to me considering he will be starting in just four short months.  Staying in Utah that's not a big deal, but if we decide Arizona then that's quite the change we have to make in four months time.  But we will make it work, whatever is the best thing.  We are still waiting to talk to the Dean of ASU to discuss his scholarship options.

This last week or so has been a lot of fun at home.  My work schedule worked out so that I had a lot of time to spend with Cody.  We got a lot done in the apartment as far as cleaning and organizing.  We just have one more trip of returning duplicate wedding gifts and we will actually have space in our apartment.  And can use our second bedroom for the dogs instead of having a massive dog cage in the middle of the living room!

We also got a Dyson Animal vacuum! You wouldn't believe how much this was needed.  Having a white husky that loves to lay on the couch, it's a much needed product.  Highly recommended.

After Cody got rear ended by the cop, we decided the best thing for us was to trade his car in and get something different.  His car got terrible gas mileage and things on it just kept breaking down.  Luckily Cody's good friend works in car sales and was able to get us a really great deal.  We ended up trading in the car and leasing a 2013 Volkswagon Jetta. (I'm telling you, leasing is the way to go- even if you want to buy the car.  Lease it first, you will save money on it!  Interested, and I will explain more to you. Leasing is not what it used to be.)  It's a really great car and we are excited to have a car that gets such good gas mileage plus not have to pay for any maintenence whatsoever on it!

We went golfing on Wednesday finally.  Cody has been begging me every since the weather hit 50 degrees.  For me, I enjoy golfing, but I want fantastic weather for it.  But I finally gave in when we were in the 60 degree weather, and we had a lot of fun.  I don't think I'm too bad at it, I got my first Par on one of the holes so I'm slowly improving.  It was probably only my sixth time ever golfing or so!  And Cody is getting really good!  He is taking a golf class right now at the U and not only is it making his golf game improve, but his obession with golf is out of control now.  He talks about golf at least ten billion times a day.  Good thing it's something I enjoy also.

We also decided this last week that we were going to make some good food for dinner.  We actually planned out our meals and shopped for it (okay, I shopped for it) at the beginning of the week so we knew what we needed to do.  I cooked pull apart chicken, BBQ pulled pork, fajitas, and just some boring old tacos so far this week.  Cody also cooked sweet and sour chicken and he did great! We have a few more good ones planned for the week still to come.  It's been a lot of fun and I've actually really enjoyed cooking.  I hope this whole planning the whole week in advanced thing becomes some sort of tradition because it's been great.

Well, that's really all for our little update for now.  Life is busy, but it's very enjoyable.  Each day being married gets better and better.  We are still learning how to work differently with each other.. as much as you think you know everything about that person when you get engaged and even after dating for two years, being married is different.  It's wonderful different, but a whole new learning experience different.  And I love every minute of it!



I found a snake on the green on one of the holes during golfing and Cody wanted to hold it.. So gross.



Our new beautiful Jetta.



Decision, Decisions...

Oh how ironic it becomes when you feel you've made an important decision and then all of a sudden all the factors that lead you to that decision totally change and you're back to square one.

This whole where is Cody going to go to law school charade is wearing on me.  We thought we had made a decision.  Utah it was.  And then, as the universe plans, everything changes.  Cody, the next day, got a phone call from ASU stating they wanted to offer him $20,000 the first year and $10,000 the second year to go to their school. 

Awesome.  No really, it is totally awesome.  It just makes the decision that much harder. Arizona as it stands still will cost just a little bit more money the first year, but it's close enough that it pulls on Cody's heart strings a lot since it's where he really wants to go.

It's where I really wanted to go also until a few days after that call.  I started thinking about actually packing up and moving to Arizona.  And I started freaking out.  Where will we live?  Will we have enough money to afford this?  How much money do I have to pay my work for the contract I signed and will be breaking?  Will I be able to find a job there?  What do we do if I can't find a job since Cody can't work during school?  How will leaving all of my family and friends behind feel?  Am I going to be totally alone with knowing no one and Cody having to spend so much time at school?  Ya, I'm freaking out.

I didn't realize this decision was as big of a decision as it really is.  I thought it was going to be all fun and games picking where to live for the next three years.  So far, it's not very fun.  Some days it's put strain on Cody and I as we try to discuss logically instead of over emotionally how we both feel.  He says prayers.  I say prayers.  We say prayers together.

We have to decide by April 30th.  That's when ASU needs to know for their scholarship offer.  I think my biggest fear is my job.  I got my first RN job in January and had to sign a year contract.  If I break it, I have to pay a whole lot of money.  But even worse, I'm scared about being able to find an RN job in Arizona.  Without a full year worth of experience, many people don't want to hire you.  The reason I got hired here in Utah is because I worked for the same company as a CNA for many years.  What do I have going for me as the newbie from a different state and very little experience? 

I feel bad because I know Cody fully has his heart set on Arizona.  He's been talking about living there for months and months.  Now that that is a real possibility, there's nothing else on his mind.  I've been excited about a lot of it too and trying to repress some of the fears I feel about it, but there's only so long I can hold those fears in. 

I want to do what's best for us.  What is the best school for Cody to go to?  Where is the best place for us to live the first three years of our marriage?  What kind of impact will both places have on our relationship, families, jobs, and lives in general?  I wish I knew the answers to all of this.  I guess praying and praying more is on the adgenda coming here soon. 

I'm very grateful to be able to spend so much time with my husband.  I love him more than I have words to say.  All these huge decisions are just a reality check of being married.  "Married" can be hard sometimes, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.  Things will work out.  We will figure out what/where is best for us.  And whatever we decide, I know we will love.

A little flash of our week this week...

We went to Ikea and found a new bedframe for our new memory foam mattress.  Cody mostly put it together because the first part of the bed I tried to help with, I broke.  But we totally love the bed, especially the memory foam and especially king sizeeee.



And the dogs probably love the bed as much as we do.



Cody got rear ended by a police officer.  A dog ran out into the street and let just say... the cop may have been following a little too closely.





Easter Morn

Easter went a little like this for the Jenkins couple.

I currently work as a nurse on a maternity floor in the hospital and I had to work a graveyard shift the night before Easter Sunday. Being a nurse has many great perks to it, but working graveyard shifts is not one of them.  I really liked them at first and thought I would like them for a while, but the recovery period after the shift is just brutal.  I find myself having minor medical issues like pain under my ribcage after I work too many night shifts.  Plus spending my time the next day sleeping when I want to be awake spending time with Cody instead is really hard.  Luckily my job lets me do half day shifts and half night shifts so I do get my break from night shifts.

Anyways.  Easter.  I got home around 8:00 am and set out some an Easter basket and candy for Cody.  It took him forever to leave the bedroom or bathroom and see it in the kitchen, but it was a good little surprise for him.  Cody's mother was always so good about doing cute little things for Cody that you would think only little kids got from their mom, so I had to step up to the plate.

Next, we got ready for church.  I know, that sounds crazy because I had just worked all through the night.  But Cody and I hadn't been to church in so long because of the wedding and honeymoon and we wanted to get to our new ward.  So instead of sleeping, I went to our new ward.  Oh, the difference a family ward is from a single's ward.  It's noisy.  It's messy.  And there's pretty much no one mine or Cody's age.  Not to mention, that ward is FULL of terrible singers.  But it's okay, I will get over it.  The bishop seems really nice and it will be good for us to get into a ward where we can stay for a little bit.  Sacrament went nicely, but you better believe my head was bobbing BADLY after a little while.  There's only so much quiet reverence a person who has been up for 24 hours can take.

We left church after sacrament so that I didn't pass out on the spot and I came home and slept until about 4:30.  Then Cody drops the law school bomb on me (which will be explained later in this post).  We went to Cody's grandparent's house where we ate good food, got showered with more candy, and listened to Cody's grandma's cute Easter story presentation.  Once we were done there, we went to my parents house and got even more candy.  My mom is also in this cupcake making phase where she makes these ridiculously yummy candy filled cupcakes that rot your teeth instantly.  So we got a second plate of those (she brought us a different plate a week ago) and came home to watch a movie together for the first time as a married couple- The Lucky One, typical chick flick that I loved and Cody made fun of.  It was a great first Easter together and we had fun spending time with both of our families.  It's still weird and exciting getting used to the idea that we are married, but it's the best thing to remember!  Being married is by far the best thing in the world.

Law School Bomb:  Originally, Cody and I had our hearts set on Cody going to law school at Arizona State and us moving to Phoenix.  I think we were both pretty thrilled with the idea of wonderful weather and a much lower cost of living.  But after a few different eye opening experiences, our plans have changed fast.  Cody has already been accepted to the University of Utah law school and given a $14,000 scholarship for the first year.  Arizona, we are still waiting to hear from.  Cody has to make a decision about the Utah scholarship by Friday.  After those eye opening experiences, we think we are going to stay here in  Utah.  We've realized in the long run it will be cheaper, I will be able to stay at my job I just started and get some solid experience as a nurse, it will be nice staying by family- especially when little babies come into the picture in a few years, and it means we can buy a townhome that has a small backyard and we can get out of a stuffy apartment with two big dogs.  We still have some things to think about and plan to go to the temple and do a lot of praying, but as for now, Utah is the decision.  Maybe we will get our out-of-Utah experience some time later in life.  But for now, I feel very content with this decision and I think Cody does too.  So my Utah friends, that means you are still stuck with the Jenkins. For now.  :)

Our Easter cavities waiting to happen.  Plus a few other fun things.

You know you own a husky when you have been at work for 8 hours already and find a hair like this on your water cup.  Geez.



Oh, just pictures of our rings we take during church.