The Key

Hey All!

I have so much stuff to share I'm not even sure where to start. So let's start with something many of you may already know...my current whereabouts. It aches me to even say it, but I'm currently back in COLD ol' Iowa (Indianola, IA to be exact.) My hometown, which also means my childhood bedroom...yes my husband and I are currently staying at my Mama's house. And I'll be the first to say it's actually been AWESOME! I mean no mortgage payment, rent free, meals cooked, laundry is always done...why didn't I move back home sooner?! LoL

However, this was not the plan. In December I quit my job, sold my house, sold my car, sold a ton of belongings, and shipped our life over to Curacao where my Husband was working and we would be living for the next year or two. However the night before I was to actually move out of my home and a couple of days before I was to fly out of the country with my little dog and start a new life, we got some cruddy news. My husband's job was no longer going to work out, which was the whole reason we were transferring our life out there. Our entire plan had just shattered. All the time, money, and effort we had put into beginning our new life in Curacao had just went down the hole. It was very heart wrenching at first and we really weren't sure what to do next. It was a rough next couple of days trying to swallow everything that was going on and wondering why this had to happen to us, but I knew we would figure it out. So on the night before my original departure date, I was having dinner with my parents discussing different options and realized my airline ticket that I had already purchased was non refundable. DUH. Mom & Dad I'm flying out tomorrow morning who's taking me to the airport? Why wouldn't I go? I didn't have a job I had to attend, we already had paid rent in Curacao for the whole month of December, and honestly my husband and I needed each other. So I rearranged some clothes in a suitcase and took off. I was a bit of a trainwreck of emotions, okay a lot of bit, but I hopped on that plane and was ready to get some things figured out.

Long story short (for now) we spent a few weeks in Curacao and Aruba before heading back "home" to Iowa. (I'll post another blog later on about our travel experience to both of those.)

We arrived in Des Moines New Years Eve night, exhausted and no where near ready to bring in the New Year lol. My lovely Mother and her husband picked us up from the airport with open arms and took us out for some real fine dining at Applebee's. LoL After some food and beer we were more than ready for showers and bed. I'm pretty sure the whole household was asleep by 9:30. There was no chance of making it to midnight for us! The first day of the new year would be spent looking for jobs, a new home, and figure out our plan.

It's only been a few weeks, and since then I have started a new job at a property management company, we've purchased a car, and just recently we figured out our new plan. I'm so excited to share the new plan!

We're moving to the keys! The Florida Keys!

YAY! We are still going to get to live our "Island Life" and be state side at the same time!

Why the Keys you ask? Well my husband has been trying to get all of his certifications for Scuba Diving done while working at the same time for the last couple years, which is why we had to live near the coast or on an island. He did some research and the first school he found was Halls in Marathon Key, FL. It seemed like the perfect fit for what he wanted, so he made some calls and found out the next class begins in February! Greg is now enrolled and we are ready to go!

WOW we are moving so fast...but the next thing on the list was to find us a place to live. If you have ever been to the Keys (we haven't) but you'll find out fast that it is very EXPENSIVE! Depending on where you looked, most studio or one bedroom places were going for a minimum of $2,000 a month, and unfortunately they don't come with a Mother who cooks and cleans for you. LoL YIKES. We are still up in the air on a few things but I am pretty sure we found a great place to start off living at, that will even allow me to bring my baby (dog.)

So in the beginning of February, which is just a couple short weeks away, we begin our first road trip ever as husband and wife (and little dog too) to start a new life in the Florida Keys. We will pack up everything we can into our Chrysler Concord and hit the open road. 

I still plan on making and selling my art like I was going to do in Curacao, but I had also been doing some research for jobs and what not in the area, and came across an amazing Yoga teacher training school. As many of you also know I enjoy practicing yoga and have considered becoming an instructor myself for a while now. I feel like this is the perfect time to finally take action and pursue some of my personal goals, and what better place than in the Keys? So if all goes well I will be training to be a certified Yoga instructor in May!

NAMASTE.

I really didn't understand it at first, and it took a lot for me to believe that it happened for a reason...but I finally believe that us losing our "dream life" in Curacao was a blessing in disguise. Both my husband and I are now going to be pursuing our dreams and furthering our education in Florida, together. I am so thankful for our friends and family for supporting us while we've adjusted and I can't wait to see what the next speed bump brings. Nothing can hold us back. I'd say for our first three months of marriage we've had quite whirl wind of tests and we can handle anything at this point.

The life we live is anything but ordinary....

Dutch?

Truth is I don't know where to start on this blog.....

I will start with this. About a month and half ago I got a random phone call from my realtor. He had asked me if I had any interest in selling my house because the 2 townhouses next to mine he sold very fast and he had a buyer interested in them still. Keep in mind my house wasn't for sale but my realtor knew mine had relatively the same layout and he just wanted to check with me. The amount that it could potentially sell for was far more than I paid for it, so it was hard to say no....but I didn't have any plans on moving anytime SOON so I just kind of put that call on the back burner. I saw the two houses next to mine had the SOLD signs in the lawn and watched the owners move out over the next couple weeks. That's the end of that story.

Wedding Glimpse

September 27th, 2014....The best day of my life. I got to marry the world's most incredible, handsome, loving, crazy man! I'll be updating my site soon (as I am WAY overdue) with some more blogs, but for now a glimpse at my perfect wedding day through the camera lens of Kapture King Productions. He did SUCH an incredible job capturing all the little details and important moments of our day. This video brings so much emotion to me every time I watch it (I've probably watched 100 times and cried each time,) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I Said Yes!

I Said Yes...

Alright Alright so as most of you know by now, I got engaged. It was lovely and I am so happy and everybody wants to know the story soooooo here ya go!

Tuesday Jan 28th
Greg got off work at 8 A.M. and had planned out our day for us. We usually like to tackle a lot during his off days while I'm here, because before you know it I'll be gone in Snowy Cold Iowa. *VOMIT* 
We decided to start our day off by filling the cooler and hitting the green. There is a little golf course here on the tiny island, it's not what you picture your usual country club like...but it works. I had to get my golf ball of the airport runway multiple, that was a first lol. So after a long day of golf and drinking we grabbed a quick lunch at the chow hall and took a little nap. Later I knew we had planned on Grilling Out and Kayaking so we were gunna need the energy. 

After our nap was over we tossed our suits on and started cutting up some potatoes and veggies for the grill to eat with our steaks. We packed what we thought was everything in the bag, tossed it all in the wagon, put the wagon on the bicycle, and pedaled over to the Rat Shack. (Fancy place for dining eh?) On our way over Greg realized he didn't have a lighter so told me he had to stop at the fire station and told me to pedal over to the Surf Shack to get the lighter fluid. Once we both got to the Rat Shack and unloaded stuff we realized we forgot a glove to use to grab the hot foiled tater packages, so I pedaled over to the Surf Shack once more to grab the rest of what we needed. Finally time to sit down enjoy some sangria and have some dinner with my honey. After we finished eating dinner (Greg, Myself, and one BILLION flies) it was time to walk 50 ft down the beach to the shack that has the kayaks and stuff. It was about 5:45 and the sun sets about 6:40 and Greg had the great idea of kayaking around the corner of the island so we could see the sunset. On our way over I bet Greg that he couldn't stand up in the Kayak without it tipping over and of course being the big strong man he is, he had to prove me wrong (right.) So he attempts to make his way up before a few seconds was up flips out of the kayak and falls into the ocean water. When we got around the island we noticed a little beach that was uncovered since it was low tide, so we decided to row the kayaks up to it and get out. We hung out for a while watching the colors in the sky slowly change, walking around looking at things and then we rowed back to shore. We got out and I was ready to wash the kayaks and put them away but Greg said we should do it later, even though it was going to be getting dark, I didn't argue. (Surprised? Ha) I started to walk on the other side back over to the Rat Shack and Greg told me I to get back down and walk along the beach with him, I would soon realize why.

We hold hands and walk up to the shack we had previously eaten at. It looks different. The tiki torches are lit up, candles all over lit up, bottle of wine on the table, and a wrapped box in the middle of it. This box was wrapped in Christmas wrapping and had a sticker on it that said "To Greg From Mom Love and Miss You." Obviously he was confused. I wasn't really sure what was going on. The first thing I said was what's going on how did you light these candles when we were gone? And why is your Christmas present on the table? 

*About three months ago Greg's Mom had called me and asked if she could ship a nice watch she got Greg to me and I would pack it in my carry on with me when I went to visit him. When you ship stuff to the island you have to fill out a customs form that says what's in the box and how much it's worth, plus you don't always know how safely it will get here. Of course I told her yes and she insured it and sent it to me, it's been under my tree since I got it. When I arrived I had handed it to Greg and told him his Mom had sent me with his Christmas present, and he said he knew but he couldn't open it until the other present arrived that she shipped. And so it's been sitting in his place ever since.*

I walked up to the table and Greg told me to open MY PRESENT. Again I told him that it wasn't mine and he just kept quiet as he watched me open it. A GUCCI WATCH? I don't get it. So I open the box up and there is no Gucci watch. There is a ring box, it's empty. I turn around and my honey is on one knee holding the most beautiful size 4 1/2 ring I have ever seen. Right there candlelit beach side my boyfriend asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I SAID YES! Holy shit...I just got engaged. Is this real life?! LoL I sort of blacked out and forget what all happened right then I just knew that I said yes and I couldn't stop crying. And yes if you hadn't put it together, turns out I was carrying my own engagement ring around for months! Just imagine if I had accidentally left it at home under the tree LoL. He picked it out completely on his own and already knew my size. The inside of the ring is engraved with "Forever My Love." He had also asked our friend Alana for some help by setting up the candles and stuff and lucky for me I got some awesome pictures because she was hiding behind a tree taking snap shots the whole time! Apparently Greg had been trying to propose for weeks but either the weather or I had kept ruining his plans lol. OOPS! ANNNND remember when he flipped out of the kayak into the ocean with this diamond ring in his pocket?! Some fish could have been rollin through the deep blue sea with some awesome bling...

Who knew the little fling I found when my best friend and I visited Vegas would turn into forever? (That's another blog to come.) Marriage. AH I am so excited and I am so lucky. I have been living in paradise since I met Greg. I've found the perfect man for me and I love him more than words can say!