Newishness

I felt like getting married, moving to a new state (even a new TIME ZONE), and finding a new job warranted a new blog. Hopefully, this will be a smarter, hipper Jill (hahahahaha). Okay, maybe I'll just try not to put my foot in my mouth too much.

To begin, here are my thoughts on the new things in my life:

1. Getting married.
So, we're going on Day 6 with this one. Marriage is good and balancing. I would probably be freaking out about #2 and 3 more if it weren't for Luke. I get stressed and think that everything will far apart, and he's a lot more even keeled. Luke helps me remember the bigger picture. I could barely sleep during the two weeks leading up to the wedding; I kept waking up thinking of everything there was to do (wedding related and non-wedding related). Maybe it's just knowing that there's nothing I can do or control, but since the wedding my sleeping is much better.

The actual wedding day was amazing. The day started with breakfast at Soulard Coffee Garden with my bridesmaids and family. I found out that the night before Mom (who offered to steam all of the girls' dresses for the wedding, including mine) had pricked her finger on a pin that was in my gown. Joe told her not to touch the dress and proceeded to press it himself. He spent two hours on it! It was the most unexpected part of my day and made me feel very loved by my brother. Breakfast was great--the potatoes at Soulard Coffee Garden are delicious.

After breakfast it was time to get ready for the wedding. Michelle had opened up her home to all of the girls. My mom got ready with us, and my friend Bekah was there, too. Katie and Kelly came about an hour before we had to leave. It was a great group of some of my favorite people in the world.

Luke and I took pictures first at Lafayette Park. It's a lot quieter than Forest Park and much more colorful. We saw each other for the first time on a little bridge and then took a few pictures there.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was everything I wanted it to be: personal (we wrote our own vows), prayerful, and praiseful. I cried as Luke said his vows to me. They were so heartfelt and totally him. I just couldn't (and still can't) get over his devotion and love for me. I can only hope that he knows and sees and experiences how deeply I love him.

I had so much fun at the reception. The food was delicious, the guests were dancing, and the weather was perfect. We had a patio area right off of the dance floor for the people who didn't want to dance. It was happening both inside and out! I didn't want the night to end, but I was totally exhausted by around 9 o'clock.

It was seriously the best day of my life. There were only about 100 people there, which was great because we actually got to talk to everyone. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to post soon.

2. Moving to a new state
All of our belongings are in the U-Haul in front of our friends' Ben and Emy's house. Ben and Emy are our friends in Bloomington and have graciously opened their home to us each time we came to Bloomington to look for houses. We haven't been able to close on our home yet, which is frustrating for Luke and stressful for me. If we can't close by Friday, I have found a couple of apartments that are available immediately.

Luke and I went to Indiana University today to check-in with his department. The secretary was incredibly helpful: told Luke when he should register, when he'll be able to get his student ID, and asked about my job situation. We met a couple of current graduate students and they were also friendly and helpful. Hopefully, Bloomington will start to feel like home quickly.

We've also switched the computer and car clocks so that they are now on Eastern Time Zone.

3. Finding a new job
This will probably be an on-going topic (and on-going drama). I'm not going to be teaching (unless God changes something quickly). Part of it is the stress of finding a job; Bloomington schools tend to hire IU grads, and the schools that are farther out are farther out. I don't want to be in the car every day for an hour and a half. Plus, Luke and I are now a one-car couple, and I don't want to add the stress of commuting to that situation. And I was also getting a little burnt out on the teaching thing this year. Maybe it was just elementary school that I was tired of...I don't really know, but I kept thinking about other things that I'd like to do.

I really want to get my Masters of Library Science while we're in Bloomington. So, hopefully I'll be able to get a job that will both support us and give me thre freedom to pursue a degree. I've been thinking a lot about what that job could be and applying for positions that I may or may not be qualified for. I would like something with the University, or maybe with a non-profit. maybe I'll work on writing a bit more, too.

Okay, those are the big three. Hopefully, I will be keeping this up regularly :-)