Dj

So earlier this month Dj graduated from Cal Poly. Here he is, after the big ceremony, doesn't he look happy? Trust me, I was ecstatic!

And since the guy is so smart he got the opportunity to speak at the department ceremony. I'm so proud of him, he did a great job so I wanted to share. It isn't the best quality but it's the words that I really wanted to capture. Don't mind the shakiness either, I kind of kept forgetting I was filming.

May

I turned 25! Yep, that's right, quarter of a century and loving it! I'm still at the stage in life where I'm excited to get older so I'm going to milk that for as long as possible. I think it also has something to do with how negatively my mom always spoke about getting older, she always complained. But here I am 25 and life is great and only getting more amazing as the days go by. I know it'll probably change someday but right now, I'm excited to get stretch marks from babies, wrinkly laugh lines, and get grey hair with my husband. Like I said (and everyone who's older and reading this is thinking) this mindset will probably change, might as well live it up and enjoy the birthday wishes.
On this birthday Dj got me jewelry! Which is neat because besides my wedding rings I've never gotten jewelry before. Now don't go thinking he's a bad guy, I'm just not a jewelry person. But I've been talking about getting a necklace like this for ages and he finally decided to get it for me.

 

And I had seen this one on the website too but I never thought he would get it for me. But he bought me both! He's such a sweetheart!

It means I love you in Portuguese (and Spanish too, they're just pronounced differently). And because I have to give props where they are deserved these two necklaces were made by Saout over at Etsy. She makes some cute stuff, there are definitely a few more things I'd like to get someday.

The other big deal that happened a few days after my birthday was our 3rd year Anniversary! May's like a big celebration month for us so I think it's just the greatest thing in the world. I got Dj some movies he's been wanting for awhile and he got me the board game Ticket to Ride.

 

If you haven't played it, it's pretty fun. It's one of those games that doesn't require a ton of strategy like Risk or Monopoly but takes a little more thought then LIFE or something like that.



One thing I can say about being married for 3 years now, is that I'm exponentially more in love with Dj than I was the day he proposed to me on that cold winter night a few days before Christmas in 2009 or the day we got married in the LA temple in 2010. He truly is my best friend and we are always, always making each other laugh. He amazes me everyday and I'm so proud to stand beside him while we go through this life There aren't words for me to express how and why or how much I love him.

Here's to an eternity of love, laughs, and lots of sillyness.

 

Best Present

I'm going to preface this post a little bit. My mother has Multiple Sclerosis, it effects her brain and causes a lot of pain, which means she's on a lot of medication. Her disease often makes her child-like or distant which means most of my life I've been playing the role of mom or caretaker. So when talking about my mom to my dad or to Dj it's become a thing to say that my mom "isn't there", which is just a nice way to say she's having a bad day and her mood/comprehension/whatever is just not good. So when after I talk to her on the phone Dj can usually judge how good a conversation it was by my saying where she was "there" or not.

So yesterday my parents stopped by unexpectedly on their way through SLO and brought me a pie from Marie Calenders (a fresh strawberry one, looks amazing!) my dad told me they wanted to come back to SLO the next day to take us out to dinner for my birthday and to give us a call later and tell them what time and where to meet them.

I called my parents back a few hours later and talk to Mom, she's "there", we have a really nice conversation and then I get passed on to Dad. After a little talk and plan making Dad says Mom really wants to talk to me again. So we talk a little longer, she's still "there" and we get on the topic of work and how exhausting it's been lately because of various things going on there. And my mother, bless her beautiful heart, says in the sweetest voice that she really admires me. She said that she's never ever had to do all of the difficult things that I've had to do in my life and that she truly admires me for what I do everyday. Let's just say my eyes were just gushing. And after that I could tell that she was "leaving" she was getting tired and she wasn't going to be "there" for much longer.

That's the first time in my 25 years of life that my mom has ever told me that she admires me. I honestly have not had a lot of times in my life where I have felt like her daughter, in the traditional, mother/daughter way that I love to see and have felt with many wonderful women in my life. I know that I was handed a difficult card but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blesses me with these tiny beautiful experiences where my mom is really "there" and my heart feels like it's going to burst because I feel so loved. Heavenly Father gave me the best birthday present ever last night.

I don't share this story to make anyone feel sorry for me. I'm writing about it because I don't want to forget that it happened. And maybe to remind anyone who is reading that life is amazing and gorgeous and worth every single difficult experience it takes to live it. Thanks for listening.

The Next Month and a Half

I've been really quiet on here lately but it's been because I have so much to be excited about and I couldn't share a lot of it yet.

I have lived in San Luis Obispo County all my life. I was born in Bakersfield and I consider it my home away from home but besides my first few weeks of life and a few weeks every summer since I was a tike I've always lived on the Central Coast.
But now, in about a month I will be following my husband in a moving truck all the way up to Santa Rosa, California. Now I know some of you are thinking, dang, that's a really quick move! But in all reality we've known about it for a couple months, I just couldn't spread it out on the internet airwaves because of my job. They had started doing layoffs right about the time I found out and Dj was quitting his part time job so I really just needed the money and the security so that Dj could focus on his last quarter and not have to worry. Here are the emotions I'm feeling concerning the move: sick to my stomach, over the moon excited, worry that I'll never make friends again, happy, heartbroken, adventurous, terrified, grateful, and like the most blessed girl alive. I'm not crazy I swear, I've just always wanted to leave SLO, I've always wanted to move around but I stayed here when my parents moved because Heavenly Father told me it was the right thing to do. See, He always knows what He's doing since like a year and a half later I married the most beautiful man I know! Only now what I've always wanted is here and I kind of can't believe it.

We went up to Santa Rosa Mother's Day weekend and spent three exhausting days hunting for an apartment, trying to keep within our budget and make sure the area felt safe enough for Dj to feel comfortable having me at home. We were blessed again to find an apartment, $25 under our budget and we didn't have to buy a washer and dryer, it comes with the apartment (which none of the other places we liked did). It's 2 bedrooms so there's room for guests or a baby or something like that. Anyways we drove over the Golden Gate on the way up, which neither of us had ever done before. Half of it was enshrouded in fog, the other had the sun shining brightly on it.

Now I'm going to brag about my husband, I know he hates it but I'm just so proud of him and the achievements that he sees as so "normal" and "ho-hum". The job Dj will be starting July 1st is with a company called Agilent, they do test and measurement equipment. They rented Dj a car and put him up in a Hilton with a full day of presenting and interviews. Well to put cut the story short they offered him the job before he even left to drive back home. Dj also will be recognized twice for being the most outstanding graduating student in his department, which means his GPA is top in his class.

Here he is holding his certificate. They honored him at the Madonna Inn Friday night where he and a date got a free fancy dinner, thankfully, he picked me for his date, hopefully I didn't disappoint....

 

I'm actually really embarrassed to post this picture, so please, don't judge. I'm posting this because I've had this dress for months and I've felt too fat to step out of the house in it. I decided to be brave so I'm posting this to document my courage. Thankfully our new complex comes with a work out room, which will I be using to get rid of the 40-hour-a-week-desk-job-and-being-a-student-for-most-of-it weight I've put on. I've hated feeling so out of shape so I'm excited to get active again. Dj really wants to train for a marathon with me....I think I laughed at him when he said it the first time but I know it's a good idea and it would be fun.

So here's a break down of the next month and a half of events for the Waldrons:
May 23 - I turn 25 years old!! So stoked! I'm still at the point in my life where I'm okay with getting older.
May 29 - 3 year anniversary! Yep, 3 amazing years, the absolute, hands down, best and easiest 3 years of my life.
May 31 - My last day of work. I've been putting Dj through school since we got married and I've been working as much as I possibly could since before that. This will be the start to a different life style for me, one where I can finally have the time to figure out what I want to do, what I want to go to school for, if I even want to go to school, that sort of thing.
June 2 - I'm getting released from the best and most amazing calling I've ever had. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father gave me this very short, but very rewarding experience, I've learned so much.
June 13 - Mom and Dad Waldron fly in from Utah!
June 15 - Graduation day!!!! There are not enough exclamation points to portray my excitement over this!!!!!!
June 17-19 - Moving day(s).
July 1 - Dj's first day at Agilent.

Sorry if this post is disjointed, I'm overwhelmed with the blessings we've been receiving lately and with all the exciting things happening very soon.

Last Quarter

Do you ever feel like life is going so fast that it knocks the breath out of you? But then some of the days themselves seem to drag on like molasses? I'm currently at that stage.

Monday marks the last week of Spring break Dj will ever have during his undergrad. That's right! My husband has ONE QUARTER LEFT until he graduates. So starting Monday that's twelve weeks left in this stage in our life. May and June are going to be momentous and amazing! May brings our 3rd Anniversary and my big 2-5 birthday! And June will bring a graduation day that I'm still in awe of, that it will actually be here in three months.
I'm not sure if I actually believe that this day is nearly upon us. I've put up with jobs I haven't liked and worked way harder than I'm getting paid for to make sure I'm bringing in an honest wage so that Dj can focus on school and not have to work a lot. It's been hard, I've griped at him more than I want to admit. I'm grateful that I've had to work so hard though because when a few years down the road, when he comes home exhausted and stressed because of work I'll know exactly what he's going through. And though I may gripe again at times (because I admit that I'm as far from perfect as you can possible get I'm sure) hopefully more often than not I will bite my tongue and tell him how much I love him and how much I appreciate his hard work. I understand the stress of being the 'bread-winner' and I know how heavy that mantel can get and I pray that I'll always be able to keep that perspective when the days get rough for both of us. I'm so proud of him though, he's put up with so many set-backs and we've dragged and pushed one another through the difficult times to make sure we come out of them together. It's almost here, both of us can taste it, and I cannot wait for the future, it's looking pretty good right now.

Another bittersweet thing that June is bringing is the end to my favorite calling so far in my nearly 25 years of life. The first Sunday in February I was set apart as the Secretary in the Stake Young Women's Presidency. It hasn't been a full two months yet but I've loved everything that I'm learning and I've loved the increased Spirit that I've felt. It's been such an amazing experience and even though it will be very short I know I will hold it close to my heart.
There is obviously more that this summer will bring than just graduation and my getting released from my calling but we're trying to keep it off the internet at the moment, so if the three people who probably read this happen to be dying of curiosity feel free to text me or message me on facebook. (And no it's not a baby!)

Life is good, life is hard, but it sure is beautiful.

Vegas

 In the middle of December, the week before Christmas I think, we met up with Dj's parents in Las Vegas, they invited us there to see Jeff Dunham (The puppet guy with Achmed the dead terrorist) as a Christmas present. We stayed at Cesear's Palace which is ridiculously nice, his mom found an awesome Cyber Monday deal on the rooms I guess.

 The rooms were the nicest we've ever stayed in. I realized this isn't a good picture and I didn't get one of the bathroom. That was the nicest bathroom I've ever even been in before! It had a huge jetted bathtub and large shower. I'm pretty sure the bathroom alone was classier than our entire apartment, our car, and both of our work places put together.

 While there we visited the Coca Cola store, the bear looked away right before I snapped the picture but you could pay to have a picture taken with a bunch of different back grounds put in.

 

We also went to M&M world. Yeah. Let me just say that if you ever run across raspberry M&Ms at the store, please, buy some bags and ship them to me. I will cover all costs. And then buy yourself some because if you like raspberry and chocolate they are amazing. They are my favorite kind now.

 We ate a bunch of amazing food. I only got pictures from one place, Max Brunner's or something like that. Cyndi, Dj's mom had gone to one in NYC and really wanted us all to try it. I'll just show the dessert. It was a salted caramel shake. If you like the sweet and salty combo, like if you enjoy dipping your french fries in your milk shakes, this shake is for you. Dj couldn't stand it but his parents and I thought it was amazing. So if you're ever near a Max Brunner's, stop in for dessert, it was a pricey milkshake but their desserts are what they are known for.

 

We walked up the strip and saw a bunch of stuff, I won't bore you with a bunch of poor quality ipod pictures but one of the cooler things we did was go to an art exhibit. Cyndi's an artist, anything that has to do with art, she's all over it. So thanks to his talented, cultured mom, Dj and I can say that we've seen real Monet paintings and feel all cultured too.

 And here's boring ol' us. 100 lbs heavier from all the amazing food we had from this trip.

Vegas is crazy, I can honestly say I'd be happy to never ever go back. They smoke inside, there are people trying to hand you ads for girls to you door in 20 minutes. The entire casino experience is a scam, they keep you inside away from windows, where it's warm and full of artificial lights and your time and money slowly slip away. His parents would probably hate me for this but my favorite part of the entire trip was sitting in the hotel room playing Phase 10 and eating the different flavored M&Ms they got while talking and laughing. I had a wonderful time, the food was AMAZING, the room was gorgeous!, and it was really fun to hang out with his parents with just the four of us but that game of Phase 10 was definitely my favorite part.

I didn't fail.

I started school the first full week of January. I was excited and rarin' to go with 7 credits to tackle. But now, nearly three weeks later I have only 2 credits remaining. I spent three nights this past week alone getting home from work at around 4-4:30 starting homework and not stopping for more than a 15 minute dinner break until I went to bed at 8:30-9(Don't judge! Dj's alarm rings at 5:30 and I usually have insomnia on top of that). Last week I dropped my English class because I already took the exact same class at Cuesta and am waiting to hear back from the Records department about getting it counted for credit. But yesterday when I picked Dj up from school we had a long talk about what I should do. I felt like I was doing a great job at work, giving my all in a relatively negative environment. I felt like I was doing great at school, despite the 8-10 hour a week work load from one of my 2 unit classes I still had 100% in both classes(I know, only the first 2 weeks but I felt accomplished). But I felt like I had failed that week at being a wife. We hadn't had more than a few moments to talk all week. Here he was in his Senior year and he had done the dishes, made dinner a few nights, and three loads of laundry all this week while I was working on homework. I felt like a failure because I was realizing that if I kept up the weekly load that I wouldn't be able to be there at all this quarter to support my husband through his final months before graduation. He would have to worry about dinner, cleaning, and keeping his wife from throwing the computer across the room all semester long, something I never wanted him to worry about until he was at least done with school.
So I dropped out of my class. I have one left, a religion class that I really like so far. I had such high ambitions at the beginning of the year and I really wanted to accomplish them, I'm really disappointed that I wasn't able to do it. But I hadn't considered the toll it would take on our marriage and my poor, loving, supportive husband. I didn't fail at being a student. I made realizations about my limits and decided to not ignore them.
I think a large part of the reason I took on so much is because I'm tired of working so much, I wanted to feel like a student again instead of just another 40 hour grind worker. It's definitely a difficult spot to be in. I enjoy aspects of my job but the company I'm at is growing and losing their mom and pop/care about our employees feeling so they haven't been treating us the way they used to. But I also see where I fall short in cleaning our home and doing all the things that a wife usually does. I lose my perspective pretty easily, I feel like I'm just working to pay the bills so that we can survive enough for me to just keep working, if that makes any sense. I forget that this is my role for the family right now, to bring in enough money so that Dj can focus on school. I'm helping him live his dream of higher education.Which means I didn't fail by dropping some of my classes. I'm succeeding in being a supportive wife!
I never imagined I'd still be working full time by the time our 3rd anniversary came around (we're only fourish months away!) but my life is still amazing and I am over the moon happy in my marriage. Who can really ask for more than that?