Expecting Great Things

There has been one major development recently in our lives. And, no, Beth I'm not pregnant. I got a promotion at work!!!! I have been working at Kohl's for the past 5 months just as a regular sales associate. I enjoyed the work, but the paycheck left a little to be desired. So imagine my shock and surprise when our store manager asked if I would be interested in applying for another position that is opening up. My immediate thought was: HOW SOON CAN I SIGN UP?!?! Needless to say, I found out last week that I got the position. That position: administrative assistant. I know, sounds pretty official right? Basically I am now in charge of scheduling our 100+ employees, making sure payroll is where its supposed to be, working with the new hires, etc. I am back in the office with all the managers and I even have my own desk! Oh, and my picture is now on the wall as one of the administrators. I seriously considered taking a picture of my picture that is on the wall, but I thought that may be a bit ridiculous. So, I didn't. There are also many perks to this new job. A nice little payraise, and better hours. I never have to work past 2:30 and I have the weekends off! My first day of training was today, and although I feel a little overwhelmed at the amount of information I must learn, I am very excited for this new opportunity.

Every So Often...

So I realize that I am awful at updating my blog. I love reading everyone else's blog, yet do not ever update my own. It may be because my life is really not that interesting. And by may, I mean that is the reason why. But since it has been a couple of months, here is what has been happening in Illinois...

*Nathan completed his first semester of Graduate School. He came out with 2 A's and a B...needless to say he did awesome!!!

*We had our first Christmas as a married couple here in Illinois...

(We ended up adding a litte village on top of the televsion where the picture frames are, but I don't have a picture of that at the moment)

*We went up to St. Louis and visited my cousin Leslie (who is currently in Africa) and ended up going skiing and snowboarding. Leslie and I skiied, while Nathan snowboarded.

This is me and my cousin Leslie


Nathan and I taking a break in the lodge

*I was very lucky to be able to spend some time with my awesome niece Ellie. I know I am a little biased, but isn't she beautiful?? Being an aunt is awesome and I always look forward to seeing Andy, Natalie, and Ellie. Just in case you haven't seen her, here are some pictures...:)






There are now words to describe how much I love this little girl and how blessed I feel to be her aunt!!!

The Great State of Illinois

So Nathan and I have officially lived in Carbondale, IL for a month now. Things are going well and we have settled in nicely. Nathan is enjoying grad school (as much as one can enjoy school) and I am passing the time working my new job at Kohl's. I figured I would take the time to give everyone a virtual tour of our apartment. So, here you go Beth...:)


This is the view to the right when you walk in the door...our dining area


The view from the front door of our amazingly large kitchen


It is amazing that our kitchen could fit in one frame...it is just too large...and our sweet puke colored countertops


The view to the left of the front door...our family room


This is what is outside the sliding glass doors off of the family room...our very own porch of sorts...and as you can see Nathan's babies (his bikes) rest here.


The hallway that is straight ahead when coming in the door


When you round the corner into the "hallway" you see the bathroom straight ahead and our bedroom door to the left


This is our bathroom...and the only thing you are missing is...


The shower to the left


The view into our bedroom from the door...Nathan wanted me to insert here that this is where the magic happens...a la MTV Cribs :)


And our sweet little window

So now that you all have seen our cute little place...you are more than welcome to come visit. We have an air matress with your name on it...:)

So much has happened....

So there has been quite a lot that has happened since I last posted. I guess that is only fair since my last post was 6 months ago. I will try to update my faithful (but few) readers.

So I started my student teaching in January when I returned from Maine. My first placement was at Arlington Elementary in Kindergarten. That was definitely an adventure. My second placement was at St. Mary's doing 6th grade Science, English, and Reading. That was a great experience.

I graduated on May 3, 2010 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education.

I married the love of my life and my best friend on May 15, 2010. The best day of my young life so far. :)

We honeymooned to Riviera Maya, Mexico for a week following the wedding. The Xpu-Ha Resort was amazing, we met some great friends, and we can't wait to go back!

We went to Maine June 13-19 to visit with Nathan's parents. It was an awesome experience and the weather was fantastic!

Not much going on these days. I am working at the pharmacy and Nathan is doing soccer camps this summer. We are going to be moving to Illinois in August so Nathan can start grad school at SIU. This will be an adventure for the both of us.

Here are a few pictures from the past 6 months...












Ok, so I my goal is to not let another 6 months go by before I blog again. Oh and I wanted to give Lauren a shout-out. Love you girl!! :)

Maine for the Holidays

So I am leaving here in about an hour to make the long journey up to Maine. Nathan and I are driving to Knoxville, where we are staying with one of my bestest friends Christie. Then tomorrow morning we are going to stop off in Greeneville and pick up Nathan's sister Clare from school, then make our next stop in Harrisonburg, VA, where we will stay with some of their friends. After that, I believe our next stop is somewhere in Connecticut, then on to Maine. Now granted we will have to actually stop multiple times throughout the trip, because let's be honest, I have a small bladder. But with that being said, we should be at their house in Maine by Friday night. Which brings me to my next point...sadness.
Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be spending the holidays with Nathan's family up in Maine, but I am a little (ok a lot) sad that I won't be here with my family on Christmas. Thankfully my family has been really understanding about it, but I'm still gonna miss them like crazy. I mean, I'm not coming home until January.
But back to the bright side. I will, more than likely, get a white Christmas. So for that, I am pumped. I promise when I get back I will make a nice pretty post with lots of nice pretty pictures. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

A New Chapter is Concluded

So I have recently played in my final collegiate soccer game ever. And to most that may have shed a tear for me...please don't. I'm really okay, I'm really not that sad. Don't get me wrong, I loved playing soccer for the last 19 years of my life, but it was just time to move on. I have a graduation and a wedding to look forward to, and knowing that I don't have to have soccer practice all the time is a glorious feeling. It may hit my one day that I am no longer a soccer player, and it may hit me hard. But as of now, I'm fine and looking forward to starting my future...:)

And get ready...I have finally added a picture to my post!!


This is one of our engagement pictures

And thus conlcudes my first post with a picture...I know you are all so proud!! I will post more of my engagement pictures when I get them from the photographer!!

Hi My Name is Jessie and...

I'M ADDICTED TO CHERRY COKE ZERO!!!!!!

I feel it is okay for me to admit this on here since none of my close-knit soccer community even know I have a blog. You see, I am in soccer season, and therefore should probably not be drinking carbonated beverages of any kind. But I just can't seem to help myself. And let's be honest, it's not only Cherry Coke Zero that has my affection, but Dr. Pepper as well. What can I say...I'm smitten.

And changing subjects, I have a really cool sister. She wrote a whole blog about me and even had a list of reasons that she loved me. I'm not really that creative, but I do have a few things to say:

1. She is pretty cool.
2. She is pretty much my idol.
3. She pretty much rocks.
4. She is pretty...period.
5. She loves me despite all my many imperfections.
6. She makes me want to be a better person.
7. She, too, enjoys Cherry Coke Zero.
8. She always has my back.
9. She makes fun of me all the time...and yet I still love her.
10. She is my sister...the end.

Oh and I am changing subjects again. My wedding dress came in!!! It is now hidden somewhere in my house where Nathan can't find it...:)