Date #4: "R" Dinner

Date number 4 was to go shopping for and make a dinner themed around the letter of his choice. TJ chose "R," (he said "for my babe-a) and because he was working late I did the shopping and the cooking to surprise him.

Our dinner, which was great (he couldn't stop saying "This is so good to me!) was roast beef sandwiches, red pepper salad, Reeses (okay, not really dinner, but his favorite treat) and Rice Krispie treats. It was a very fun dinner, and we topped off the evening by cleaning the house. Romantic as heck, I know. ;)

Date #3: Temple Night

On Saturday night we went to the temple with a group from our ward. I love that we live so near to the temple; I timed it once and I can walk from our front door to the front door of the temple in 8 minutes. I feel so lucky to be here!



After the temple we went to a neighbor's house for dinner - lasagna and garlic bread (love it) with salad. It was wonderful! It was nice to spend time with others in our ward and start getting to know them better; we sat with three couples and enjoyed a good hour of conversation before skipping dessert to work on homework. It was a lot of fun, and good to be with friends.

$8101.01

That's how much I just paid for the next 14 weeks of school.

Engagement Party

Sheri is engaged! We had her engagement party last week and I told TJ we needed to get pictures together so our kids know that we still existed 7 months after we were married - I told him we have no proof of being together since the wedding, so I put him through this. :)

Ridiculous poses.

Good sport.

It's All About Love

TJ and I have never really been fans of Valentine's before, but now that we need bright things to look forward to in the winter, we're working to love it. So, when TJ comes home tonight he's going to find the following decorations that I put up while he was gone today. :) All homemade!

Date #3: Group Date Night

Last night was so fun! We invited over the Mansfields, the Dokukins, and the Kwants and had a group date night here. For dinner we did a pasta bar with different noodles and sauces, breadsticks, green beans, and salad, which was great! We enjoyed getting to know each other over dinner - finding out what everyone is doing with their life, where they're from, when they were married, etc. I look at my parents and how well they know everyone in their ward and it felt so good to start moving in that direction!

After dinner we played Word on the Street (my team won by a longshot - I think the key is whoever has Megan on their team wins!) and then we played several rounds of Catch Phrase, in which the guys could never beat the girls (I think it's a indicator that girls communicate a lot more with words!)

It was such a fun night. I am so excited about having friends in our ward and think this is one we will definitely repeat with other couples!

Continue or Quit?

This is the closest thing I feel I have to the open void, which is where I'd like to throw out the question "Do I continue with school or quit?" I feel that the guidance from our Church leaders can be spun either way, as attending school now requires, for the first time for me, student loans. $9450 a semester is not cheap, and I can't help me consider all the other things we could put money into: investments, for one thing, but other things that would just be nice - our yard, a trip every once in a while, our mortgage, etc. It's a hard decision, and it's keeping me up at night... Do I really need an MBA or is it just excessive? The material is great, but maybe I won't work forever, and if that's the case, maybe just reading more is the better solution. And it would be so nice to have more time to be a wife and a homemaker and a better neighbor and friend and family member and Church member. Maybe I'm just doing this program so I can tell others about it, maybe it's not really something that is important in the long run. Maybe I should stop now and save my money and if I'm still interested in a few years, go back and pay without loans. I know this is just plain rambling at this point, but this is really, really hard - I'm tired of being up at night thinking. And when TJ and I talk (he is fully supportive of whatever I choose, so he doesn't voice a strong opinion), I feel like I just talk myself into circles.

How could I ever know if it will be worth it?