Merry Christmas! (a few days late)

This year we had a really great Christmas at home. This was the first year we didn't spend the entire Christmas break at home because Rob had to work up until Christmas eve. Luckily he did get three days off so he came home and spent Christmas with our families. I went home a week before Christmas because I was throwing a bridal shower for my best friend, though all did not go as planned because the Seattle area got more than a foot of snow that weekend. Normally I like to go home to escape the snow so naturally I was a little peeved. We had so much snow that it was near impossible to get out of our neighborhood making me housebound for much of my stay.



Our Christmas tree! (in Ellensburg)


Unfortunately we did not escape the Christmas hospital curse. A week before Christmas my grandma slipped on some ice and broke her ankle. She is doing well and is in really great spirits, but is wheel chair bound for at least six weeks. I spent a few days at her house making sure she had everything she needed. We had a good time but I was a little stir crazy by the time I was able to escape (I mean go home ;) ). A few days after my grandma fell we found out that Rob's grandma fell and broke her pelvis. She had a rough first few days but they have moved her to a rehabilitation center so hopefully she will make a quick recovery. This was the Christmas of hurt grandmas :(

We spent Christmas eve and day going back and forth between our families. For me this was the year of repeats, because I received two of almost everything I asked for, lol. The funniest part was that I received 4 copies of the Sex in the City Movie! That has never happened to me before. But, it's the thought that counts. My grandparents in Utah made me a gorgeous quilt which I know I will treasure forever. My mom also bought me a sewing machine and I really enjoyed spending some time with her learning how to sew.




I was a bridesmaid in Adrienne's wedding on 12/26. She was so beautiful!




Playing in the snow in Ellensburg.



This is how much snow my parents had. Taylor built a fort as tall as him (at least 6 ft).



Our Christmas day snowman :)

Our first Thanksgiving at home ♥

This year we were not able to go home for Thanksgiving because Rob had to work (given the choice between working Thanksgiving and Christmas we opted for Thanksgiving). At first we were really sad to be away from our families but we made the best of it and got excited to have our first Thanksgiving just the two of us. It was quiet but really nice! Everything turned out great, and now I can say that I am totally capable of cooking a whole Thanksgiving meal by myself! What a domestic diva I've become ;)



I broke out the nice china and linen :)



My first pumpkin pie!





I roasted and carved the turkey all by myself!



Happy Thanksgiving from the Douglass's!

Happy Halloween!

I'm not really big into celebrating Halloween (I don't like to dress up), but I do love the holiday. I wish we actually got trick or treaters at our apartment, that always makes me sad every year. But I try to make up for the lack of costumes and trick or treating by decorating our apartment, baking something pumpkin, and carving pumpkins. It has been our Halloween tradition to carve pumpkins every year since we've been here in our apartment. This year I was smart and we bought two pumpkins instead of sharing one, but really, I'm not good at sharing, lol. I usually just want to do it all myself (I guess that makes me a pumpkin hog :P )

We don't really have any exciting plans, but I did break down and agree to see a scary movie to get into the Halloween spirit. But since it's only pg13 I think I should be able to handle it.

Happy Halloween everyone!



It's a girl pumpkin :)



Always with the faces....






His pumkpin turned out really cool :)

Rob's Birthday

This is a little late, but I figured I'd update our page with what we have been doing the past month!
Rob celebrated his 24th birthday on October 15th. The weekend before his birthday we went home for the weekend to celebrate with our friend's and family. We went out to dinner with his family and we also had a birthday brunch with both of our families. His birthday weekend also fell on the same weekend as the Battle in Seattle (the big football game between Central and Western Washington University) that is played at the Seahawks stadium in downtown Seattle. Rob had never been before so we got a bunch of our friends together and we all went to the game, and then out for some fun afterwards.







We won! But I knew we would ;)



Rob's very first Battle in Seattle




He's so silly :)



Taylor thought we should write "You're old" but I thought that wasn't very nice, lol



I bought him a new bike for his birthday!

No pressure, right?!

My summer boredom was finally relieved with the start of school this week. The week began with an informational meeting about the graduate program and our responsibilities as graduate assistants. During this meeting we were given our GA assignments and I found out I will be teaching jogging, cardio kick boxing, pickleball, and badminton this quarter, as well as assisting with the lecture and lab of our undergrad anatomy class. As far as my activity classes go, I've been assigned four activities I really know very little about, lol. I definitely have my work cut out for me!

[For those of you who don't know, the way a GA works is that I am employed by the university through our department. I will be working 20 hours a week teaching activity classes and assisting professors in exchange for a decent stipend, paid health insurance, and a tuition waiver. Basically, I do the grunt work but they pay for me to go to school, have insurance, and then give me some money to live. Not a bad deal!]

In our actual academic program I am the only girl within the first year graduate students. This was something I was not anticipating. I know some of the guys from undergrad and there are also a few guys from other colleges. There are 9 of us total, so I'm definitely out numbered. But I've been getting to know the new guys and they are really nice so I'm not to concerned. There are also three women first year grad students in the nutrition program so I am not the only girl in our classes this quarter, which is nice. I'm hoping to get to know them better and maybe make some new friends.

We've had three days of class total (I hate how we start on Wednesday), so I've had a small taste of what being a graduate student is like. I'm taking statistics which I'm not thrilled about, but luckily it is very geared towards exercise science so there are lots of applicable explanations/examples. I'm also taking advanced physiology, and to be honest, I'm scared! I took very little biology in undergrad and no chemistry, and after one lecture I feel so lost and confused. I am really hoping that the text and past notes help me clarify the jumble in my head, and the professors encouraged me to come chat if I need clarification. On a more positive note, our classes are very small and seminar structured so there is much more discussion and conversation during lecture which I actually really like. Not because I speak up much, lol, but so far someone else has always asked the questions I have going through my head.

I have about 100 students total between the four classes that I am teaching. This will definitely be a new experience for me. I've taught plenty of dance classes, but to kids under 18, and usually closer to the 3-5 age range. Now I have 100 students ranging from ages 18 to 30, two of which are my own peers in the grad program (no pressure, right?). I also know roughly 10 of my students from undergrad, so I have to find the happy medium between friend/acquaintance and instructor. The whole instructor process is going to be quite a challenge, but I'm very excited. I know this is going to give me great experience and help me grow in so many ways.

This has been a crazy week. I had to write syllabi, make a million photo copies, orient myself with the facilities, get keys to the buildings, and the list goes on and on. The past four days have been a blur and I'm now exhausted, and so thankful that it's finally Friday. Not that the work will stop because I have so much to learn about badminton and pickleball, lol. The only thing standing between me and the weekend is the lecture I have to teach to 60+ undergrads this afternoon No pressure being responsible for the very first lecture of the quarter, right???

It's rodeo weekend!!

Probably the biggest, most important weekend in Ellensburg is labor day weekend when the rodeo and Kittitas county fair take place. This year my parents got us tickets so they came over, along with Rob's parents and we all made like locals. We started out the day with the local rodeo parade and then headed over to the fair. It's a smaller fair than what we're used to over on the other side of the mountains, but it still has the food and animals so we had fun. I thought it was really neat that two of the cowboys were from Payson, UT, which reminded me of the time my grandpa took me to Payson and told me all about our family history. I just really love the western atmosphere and I always enjoy the rodeo. I'm glad we were able to do something fun with our families to end the summer!




my mom decided to let me keep the hat she bought...I love it!



we have some pretty funny sun burns



bull riders...these guys are crazy!




mom and dad with their hats on

Making our apartment a bit more homey!

I was so excited to find out that we are allowed to paint our apartment. Had I known this two years ago when we first moved in I would have jumped right on it, lol. So after some consulting with my best friend, and with Rob of course, I picked a few colors and gave myself a little project to do. (I'm sure Rob was grateful to have something occupying my time for a while!)





It's not perfect, but I think I did a pretty good job. I at least managed to avoid spilling on the carpet and I didn't get to much paint on the trim. I'm still debating whether or not to do the bathroom. Maybe in a few weeks I'll feel more up to it. I'm just glad to make our apartment feel a little more like a permanent home :)

years of memories...

Family Vacation

Because I've been unemployed this summer, and going out of my mind with boredom, I jumped at the chance to go with my parents on their annual trip to Utah. On the way down we stopped in Reno and stayed at the Peppermill Casino for two nights. We stayed in a gorgeous room and the casino had a great pool so we spent a lot of time relaxing. This was also my first experience gambling since I turned 21. I think I was pretty responsible, though I certainly didn't win big, lol. My dad gave me $40 dollars to "have fun with" and I ended up spending about $15 on souvenirs for Rob and losing the rest. Oh well!

After Reno we drove to Utah to be with my family for the rest of the week. Before Utah we stopped in Elco, Nevada because that is where my parents were married 28 years ago. (This is also where my grandparents were married). They didn't take any pictures on the day they were married so I insisted on stopping for a photo.

This was a difficult family vacation for us, but extremely important, because we found out that my grandpa more than likely has cancer. We won't know for sure until the end of the week, but he's been in and out of the hospital since he came to visit for my graduation. He has a lump in his throat that is making it difficult to swallow and spots on his lung. It's upsetting after everything that he has gone through with his heart, but he is determined to fight this. He really is an inspiration and the heart of my family. I'm so thankful I was able to make this trip and spend more time with him.

The last weekend of our trip was spent at our annual family reunion. It was a treat for me because I haven't been able to attend the past two years. Our first night was interrupted when a nearby forest fire began blowing up the canyon, forcing us to evacuate and pack up our camp at 10pm. We really weren't close to the fire but it was still quite the experience. The second night we found another camp ground and we were able to continue our reunion without any problems. I had so much fun catching up with my cousins and seeing my cousin's baby for the first time!

Our One Year Wedding Anniversary!

Time seemed to fly by this year, our first year of being married. It's hard to believe that a year ago we were so busy with wedding plans and getting ready for our trip to Hawaii. It's been a bumpy year, but worth every minute. As Rob always says, for every bad day there are 10 (thought probably more, lol) wonderful days, and I'd really rather fight with him than anyone else anyways.

We sort of drug out our anniversary so it lasted the whole weekend. One Saturday we went to see The Dark Knight in the afternoon, and then we went out to dinner at the Pasta Co. We always enjoy going out as it's become more of a luxury on our tight summer budget. Sunday was our actual anniversary and we spent the whole day together. In the morning we made breakfast together, and then in the afternoon we packed a lunch and went for a walk by the river. For dinner we made a really nice dinner at home, and I really enjoyed it more than our dinner out. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and we've never been more in love!

Welcome to the real world...

I had some sort of unrealistic idea of what would happen after I was able to put that I have a four year college degree on my resume. I thought finding a job, especially a summer job, would be so much easier with a college degree. That it would show that I'm educated, hard working, and able to finish something. But I guess I was wrong. I sort of feel like the "real world" is laughing at me, and punishing me because I cannot for the life of me land a job around here.

I've applied for 15 different jobs and only three interviews have resulted thus far. I do have a follow up interview scheduled for the end of next week (and it is the job I actually really want), but I wish I didn't have to wait that long. I really need a job now. Mostly because I'm freaking out about money, and because I don't know what to do with myself all day! I spent all of last quarter working 40 hours a week for free and now I have all this time to myself and I'm going crazy, lol.

I never thought that telling employers that I was accepted into graduate school would prove to be a bad thing. I now have to resort to being dishonest because every time I open my mouth about going to school in the fall it seems like another door is closed. Shouldn't furthering my education be a good thing?? I would think so in a college town.

I guess I'm so frustrated because I feel like I'm doing everything right. I did not wait until now to start applying. I've been applying for new jobs every week since mid May. I'm starting to think that maybe moving back home for the summer would have been the smarter decision...

But, I've made a decision. I will not give up the job search because I just can't afford to do so, but I am going to start making the most of this free time. I'm going to volunteer at the nursing home because that's really what I love to do. I love the people and I love the work. So what if I'm not getting paid or credit for it, I want to do something meaningful. And I'm going to read more, and do more than just rearrange my scrapbook stuff before losing interest. And I really want to keep enjoying the nice weather (I'm actually sort of tan for me! You should see all of my freckles, lol), so I think lots of walking is needed. Walking is the answer to everything. Those are my summer plans, and hopefully a job will find me soon

Life after graduation

After four years of hard work I finally graduated from CWU. I honestly can't believe how fast the past four years flew by. I learned so much and made some amazing friends along the way, without whom I couldn't have made it. Unfortunately we had less than ideal weather on the day of graduation. There was a wind advisory so during the ceremony we sat through 30-40mph winds. Needless to say it was difficult to keep our hats on and I ended up with a terrible wind burn. Despite the terrible weather it was great to be able to celebrate with all of my family and friends. It seems like the only way to celebrate a mile stone in my life is with friends, family, and crappy weather, lol. Now I'm trying desperately to keep busy and find a job for the summer before graduate school starts in the fall. Onto the real world of life after college...

winter quarter = love

Winter quarter started last week, and so far it has been wonderful! I really love my new schedule. It's so nice to have an easy last quarter of classes before I do my internship in the spring. I can't believe how fast the past four years have gone by. I remember when freshmen year started and I felt like it would be forever before I was finished with my degree, and now I'm almost done. And it feels really good :) Now I just need to help Rob decide on a new major so he can make a new plan and start working on getting out of school.

It's really nice to be home in Ellensburg (despite the snow, lol), even though it was good to spend so much time with our family and friends during winter break. As much as I love going home for a while it definately makes me appreciate having my own space and schedule so much more! It was a rough winter break because my grandpa was hospitalized and had major open heart surgery. Thankfully he woke up and is making amazing progress. I'm so grateful for everyone's prayers and well wishes when our family needed them the most.