As of late...

I can still remember the moment I read this.  Initial relief overcame me...followed by nervous excitement.  I was pretty happy.  I still think it's a funny coincidence that the date up top is also our wedding anniversary.

Sometimes I pull this letter out to remind myself that at one point I was pretty darn excited about going back to school.  This week has been particularly exhausting and poor Jared's probably sick to death of listening to me grumble about it.  I'm trying to keep things in perspective.  I really like my classes and find them incredibly interesting -- I just wish there were more hours in the day.  As I was trying to find room in my planner to pencil in yet another 'to-do' item, I had to laugh...boy I had things good before starting graduate school.

Despite feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to learn/do, I am actually very content with my life.  I love my new job; I love the satisfaction that comes from learning new information and accomplishing hard things (they're hard for me); and I love thinking that I've almost completed my first semester.

A snippet of my life lately...via my planner.

One evening Jared told me he had "good news and bad news" for me.  The good news was that I had a surprise coming in the mail; the bad news was that it wouldn't arrive until the end of the week.  Last year, I could not have cared less about having a laptop; this year, I felt like a kid on Christmas.

Ain't she a pretty little thing...

Don't know what I did without her.

I came home from school to see these on my counter (my brother-in-law went to China, but stopped in Japan and picked them up).  They're delicious and they bring back the best memories of the trip to Asia that Jared and I took a couple years ago.  I want to go back. 

Lastly, I sure appreciate good times with friends.  I feel incredibly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.