One Whole Year!

It's so hard to believe it, but Nate and I celebrated our one-year anniversary yesterday! I really don't know where the time went, but it must be true that time flies when you're having fun. I don't know how I managed to find the most wonderful guy in the world, but I did (sorry ladies). We are just so darned compatible with similar senses of humor, many of the same likes and dislikes, and such well-suited personalities. I truly like the person I am when I'm with him, and he is one of the few people who has seen the real me. I'm so grateful to know him!

We celebrated this weekend by camping out on Saturday night. We stayed up in the Jemez Mountains, near Fenton Lake and the Valles Caldera. Unfortunately, we got a late start due to open houses, but we made it to our campsite around 6pm. We found a remote spot, which was tough because the grounds were nearly full, and set up our tent and gear. Then we went to Amanda's Convenience Store (my old hangout when I was on the hanta crew) and got Mississippi Mud ice cream bars. MMMMM!!!! We snacked on s'mores and junk food around our fire, and indulged in a bottle of wine. It was really a nice night. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well because my sleeping bag, which is supposedly good up to negative 30 degrees, was sapping all my heat and I froze all night! I must have gotten about a half hour of sleep total. It wasn't fun, but that's camping for ya - you never know! In cool news, I could hear elk bellowing in the distance!

On Sunday, we spent the day with Nate's mom up in Los Alamos, which was nice, though I was out of sorts from having a bad night. We got some sandwiches and did a picnic out at Fuller Lodge, the site of our wedding! It was windy and the leaves hadn't leafed out much yet - we really lucked out last year! The weather had been perfect, the trees were leafy, and in some cases, bloomy, and everything worked out. Everyone had a perfect day. I guess there were no weddings there this weekend, but it seems like the weather wasn't conducive for it anyway.

For our anniversary, Nate and I went out for lunch at Two Fools Tavern, near UNM. I had one of their dreamy cottage pies (shepard's pie). Sooooo delish!! Nate tried the scotch eggs, but they were "meh." It seems like, in most instances, British food is as bad for you as you can get, but it never tastes good! If it's going to be bad for you, at least make it flavorful! Haha!

That evening, I somehow managed to fit into the white dress I wore for the rehearsal dinner - it was originally going to be my wedding dress, were the ceremony to be even less formal. It reminds me of something a wood elf would wear if it were in shades of green and brown. Anyway, I got all decked out, and Nate and I went to Seasons in Old Town for dinner. It was one of those typical "trendy" places that experiments and overcharges for not-so-great food, but oh well. It was an experience. We even ordred a whole bottle of wine! Then we walked around the plaza at Old Town before heading over to Hinkle to play a round of mini golf and some arcade games. We tied at golf and won about 260 tickets. Then we came home and watched our wedding ceremony dvd. It was a fun night!

So that's life 'til now. Hope all is well with y'all!!

Just When I Thought...

Just when I thought I had finally made (sort of) a decision about my real estate career, something has to come up to make me second-guess that decision. I hadn't planned on going in to the office today, really, instead focusing my time on my writing, but for some reason I was compelled to go in and get a few things taken care of (faxing my publication to my mom, getting materials for my open house this weekend, etc.) I wound up running into Susan and talking with her for well over an hour. We had gone so far as to even discuss starting up our own businesses when we finally decide real estate was a bummer of a career. I really hope that things start looking up for her - she is such a good person and a hard worker and so dedicated, yet she deals with even more flakes than I do! Plus, she's got more expenses than me, lives alone, and has all manner of medical issues. Every time I start feeling sorry for myself, I think about how much more she has to face, and how she almost always has a "never say die" attitude (today notwithstanding).

So just as I was about to leave, I ran into Rosie, my qualifying broker (QB). To my concern, she asked me to come into her office and sit down. Eep, thinks me, because they've told us that the only time they'll have us really meet with them is if they wonder what's happened to us and are concerned about our progress. WELL, turns out that my future QB Connie actually asked her if I could transfer to her office now, before I even have my graduation qualifications completed!! I guess it's extremely rare for them to do something like this, and Rosie decided to ask me my thoughts on the matter. The two of them are extremely impressed with me and have really high confidence that I'm about to break through for some reason. I didn't know what to say! I mean, if they had any idea how conflicted I've been feeling about this whole thing lately, I don't know if they'd be so confident in me. That and the fact that I'm so burned out at this point that I really don't think I'm living up to the expectations they have for me. I am really good about being positive on the surface and seeming like I'm putting forth more effort than I think I actually am...maybe I really do, or maybe I'm a good actress! Regardless, I'm flattered about their high view of me. I decided to decline the early transfer because I feel so comfortable at the training center (heck, I'd stay there with my pals forever, if that were feasible), and I feel that jumping ship too early would be detrimental in the long run. (Plus they have all the free brochures and stuff there...hehe.)

In other news, the reason I wanted to just write today stems from a very memorable dream I had last night. It was one of those weird ones that actually has a start and a finish and plays just like a movie...so much so that I decided it could actually BE a movie! It was really bizarre...about a bush baby named Kinkajou (go fig!) that steals people's eyes. It had a twist ending and everything! I probably wouldn't go see the movie (unless I actually shot it myself) just because I'm so grossed out by eye scenes, but I think it could work, as a short film at least...maybe a comedy! So working on that on top of actually reading my multiple screenwriting books and writing up my other ideas (so many ideas!!), I have my work cut out for me!! Hopefully they'll be decent works. Screenwriting is so awkward compared to prose. Still, I think I can make it work!!

And that's life 'til now!! I'm going to try cooking a full meal tonight for my second time EVER!! Let's hope it goes smoothly!! Talk to you later!!

Published at Last!!

After more than a year of waiting (not to mention a couple years of work prior), my thesis has FINALLY been published - I am lead author in a scientific paper!! For anyone who is interested, my article is entitled "Nest Ecology of the Southern Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) in Eastern Illinois," and it's published in the journal Northeastern Naturalist. WOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!! That's another thing to add to my resume and yet another reason I wonder what I'm doing in real estate. Each day, I wonder more and more what I'm doing and if I'd be happy here. More and more, I think about how much I love biology. Still, I want to at least break even at this real estate thing before doing anything else...ONE HOUSE...MAYBE TWO!! I guess if I got that far, I might not be as down about it as I've been. Oh well.

In other news, I'm back from Chicago...I was only there briefly to get my eye re-zapped, so I'm sorry if I didn't get to see everyone. I mostly just wanted to recoop and visit with my family whom I rarely get to see when I'm back. I am really glad to be back, though...Illinois just harbors so much negativity for me. New Mexico really is a breath of fresh air. I'd hate to think what would have become of me had I stayed back in ol' IL.

Well, I better get back to unpacking...lots of work to do today yet, and most of it is hidden in my suitcases!!