This post has been a long time coming.  True, the timing of everything could have been better but we knew it was an inevitable thing.  Wes lost his job on Friday (the day before my birthday).

When Wes and I met in June 2009 (no we hadn't been dating long before we got engaged), he was working for a Norwegian oil company.  He was contracted to them to do logistics for supply boats going to and from the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico out of Southern Louisiana.  His schedule was 7 days on, 7 days off.  He made great money and was never in a dangerous position like the people out on the rigs.  He was pretty  much in an office doing paperwork.  Then, in April 2010....

 He was able to continue his regular job for a few months (through the summer) because everything that was in the Gulf had to come back to shore.  His company in Louisiana was luckily able to keep most of its employees in some manner.  Maybe not their usual job, but they were doing something associated with the spill and clean-up.
We knew it was only a matter of time before Wes's position would be affected.  He was moved to Mobile around August (not sure exact dates) to coordinate the evacuation of the clean-up equipment if there happened to be a hurricane in the gulf.  This was a 14 day on, 7 day off schedule---still do-able.
After hurricane season, he was moved back to south Louisiana to work on decontamination of the clean-up equipment.  (All these were office jobs and he was never physically cleaning)  This schedule was more "work as much as you can and take off only when you have to".  This allowed him to work a lot and we were able to save some money, but it was hard to be away from him so much.  He was given 2 weeks off at Christmas and was unsure of whether or not he would be needed again after the New Year.  Luckily, he was called back and got to work for another month.
So, it wasn't a surprise that he got laid off, but it still sucks.  Hopefully, Obama will let drilling start back up soon and Wes will be able to have his old job back.  Oh, and YES he did file a claim with BP, so maybe something will come of that....
This is going to be a blessing though.  I am sure of it.  It will only make us stronger as a couple.  I look forward to what God has planned for us.

Sorry this post was so long, but I felt like y'all needed the whole story.


P.S. I'll have a birthday post later with some of the goodies I got!

Birthday Month

I have always been one to overemphasize my birthday and turn it into my birthmonth.  This year my sweet mom has had a gift for me every Saturday in January since my birthday is the last Saturday of the month this year. 

My first Saturday gift was a trip to the Mississippi Delta to go to all the pottery places.  I love Mississippi pottery but have never been to any of the studios.  We're planning on going to McCarty's in Marigold and Peter's Pottery in Mound Bayou.  Of course, we'll do some good eating while we're there also!

McCarty bowl

Lee and Pup McCarty

Peter's Pottery

Doe's Eat Place!

The second Saturday's gift was subscriptions to several magazines and a Groupon for a haircut in Memphis. 

I actually don't remember what other magazines she told me, but I know Oprah was one of them...

Last Saturday, I got a smaller sized Crockpot that I desperately needed.  (We registered for a huge one and a tiny dip sized for the wedding but not just a normal everyday size for some reason).  She also got me an Arthur Court Fleur-de-Lis trivet to go with my other pieces. 

When I got home today from subbing (I've been subbing everyday since my last post.  I think I forgot how tired I am after teaching all day.), my gift from Wes had been delivered.  He has hidden it somewhere in the condo.  I'm dying to go searching for it, but I'm going to try to be good!

Our plans for the actual birthDAY are pretty low-key.  We will go to the Ole Miss/Kentucky basketball game, then like every other year we'll go eat Japanese.  Ever since I was a little girl, we eat Japanese for my birthday. 

It'll be so nice to have everyone who loves me there with me.  I'm a lucky lady!

Teaching vs. Subbing

I stared substituting yesterday since I am not teaching this year.  After moving and planning a wedding, it was just hard to dedicate the time and energy into finding a full time job.  I helped my dad out in the Fall and helped at my grandmother's bakery from Thanksgiving until Christmas.  I had been keeping myself fairly busy until January.  I found out about 2 maternity leaves I could do so I applied for those but was called earlier this week to sub Wednesday-Friday of this week and 3 days next week.  I have a feeling I will be able to sub a good bit for the rest of the school year.  This is so exciting to me because I was really missing being in the classroom.  

Reading aloud to my second graders last year.  Love those kiddos!

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We had a class store where they could spend "money" they'd earned during the month for doing their jobs.

I wanna go back to my school NOW!

To cut or not to cut...

I am 28 and I have the same hair "style" since....well since forever. 

When I was 20 I cut about 12 inches off and donated it to Locks of Love.  It was something that I had wanted to do for a long time and went well over year without a haircut.  I felt great after doing it.  I had to get used to the shorter hair, but honestly it wasn't that short--just a tad above my shoulders.

The other day I got to thinking about my last haircut.  It was in FEBRUARY, y'all!  As in almost a year ago.  I remember it because it was the week before I got engaged.  After starting to think about wedding stuff I decided to let it grow out so I could wear it up and have plenty of volume. 

I look young for my age anyway (people think I am still in college), and I know long hair does nothing to help the matter.  I have enough length to donate again.  Locks of Love requires 10 inches.  Be honest with me....Should I do it??

Sorry my toilet seat is up...Gross...

This is where 10 inches would be...Right at my chin.  Too short??

Can I pull something like this off with my face shape?

I'm nervous!!!  Please give me advice! Should I wait a few more months to donate so it won't be so so short?  Or do I need to just cut it anyway and not worry about the 10 inches?  I hate to be selfish about it bring too short when so many kids are without hair and could benefit from it....

Sweet Annie over at Classic Annie gave me this award yesterday! 
I'm supposed to share 7 facts about myself.  Well...here goes:

1.  I have never tasted mayonnaise or mustard before!  I'm sure I've had food that had them cooked in, but have never put either on a sandwich or hamburger.  Something about the consistency weirds me out.

2.  I cannot STAND the smell of pickles!  GROSS!  When I was teaching and a student would bring in a pickle to eat for snack, I would make them eat it in the hall!  Mean maybe but it had to be done.  Wes likes to joke that when I get pregnant I will probably crave pickles.  Ugh, I hope not! 

3.  I danced for 15 years growing up--all the way until my senior year of high school.  I took tap and jazz.  Ballet was never my cup of tea....

**I really wish I could find a picture of one of my crazy costumes at a recital...

I'll look at my mom's and add that later!**

4.  I love manatees.  Some people collect dolphins or elephants or rabbits...I prefer manatees.  My aunt even adopted one in my name one year for Christmas when I was younger.  His name was Floyd and he lived in Clear Springs, Florida. 

5.  The day I rescued my dog LuLu was one of the best days of my life!  I don't even remember what it was like before I had her.  It's silly to say but it's like when moms say that don't remember life before their children.  LuLu is my child!

6.  I want to be a better cook.  But I am such a picky eater it's hard to find things that sound appealing.

7.  I have bitten my nails my whole life.  I am trying to get better by keeping them painted most of the time but when they start to get a little bit of length on them they break and I get discouraged and start biting again...

I'm supposed to "tag" other bloggers to participate in this...well, if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged!! 

Savings "Account"

In college, I started saving coins in a five gallon water jug.  It was my "wedding dress fund".  Psycho because I had no real prospect for a husband at the time?  Possibly....but it was easy to throw my coins in there at the end of the day and see it slowly fill up.  I did that for 5 years through undergrad and graduate school.  When I moved back to AL after college, it was HEAVY!  When I actually got engaged, it became more of a reality and I really started to think about the money I was putting in there.  When it came time to schedule dress appointments, my mom and I drug it out and started rolling the coins.  It took us a whole weekend, but in the end I had almost $2000!!!!  And it was money I never missed because it was just loose change. 

Now that I don't need a wedding dress fund anymore, I have changed my jug's purpose---It is now our down-payment fund for when we can finally buy a real house and get out of this condo.  We just started, but I know that it will add up! 

We are also planning on using the money that I have coming in from the rent I get on my house in AL that is in a REAL savings account at a bank.  

Do y'all have any savings secrets or tips??

Weekend "Fun"

I spent this weekend doing something that had to be done, not something I wanted to do...painting!  This summer when I moved into Wes's condo I tried to feminize/update it a little bit.  This place was a shrine to all things Ole Miss.  Don't get me wrong,  l love Ole Miss too, I just don't want to live in it.  I took down all the Rebel paraphernalia and painted the kitchen, living room, dining room, and master bed and bath.  And when I say I painted it, I mean I painted it.  Wes "doesn't paint" as he put it.  He thought it was fine the way it was...trust me it wasn't!  I didn't even take any before pictures because I didn't want documentation of the ugliness that he let himself live in.

For some reason I never got around to painting the guest bedroom and bathroom.  I had already changed out the bedding and shower curtain/bath mats (you may not believe me when I say this but that boy had an OLE MISS shower curtain and bath mat....you can't make this stuff up.  This 33 year old MAN decorated as if he lived in a dorm room). 

I found a picture of it on Google so you could see how terrible it was...

My mom came up and helped me since Wes is at work.  I'm so glad I have that knocked off the to-do list.  Once I get it put back together I'll share some pictures. 

Sunday night, the SNOW came!  I had been hearing all week that it was going to snow, but we hear that a lot and it never really happens. So I honestly didn't believe it was coming.  Color me wrong, cause it came!  It is was so pretty (and still is at the moment, we'll see how long it lasts).  Here are a few pics I snapped around the condo.

LuLu hates going out in the rain, so she wasn't too sure about this snow business.

Have I mentioned I live in the same complex as my dad??  Yeah, interesting! He came out to sweep off his "work truck" so he could go to the office.

Like how he protected his windshield?  Two Buck Chuck box!

Six inches on top of the truck!   

Did y'all get any snow?   

Honeymoonin'

I don't know if it's the post-holiday blues, or the near-freezing temps that have had me pining to be back on a sandy beach somewhere...anywhere!
So, in honor of that, I am sharing some honeymoon pics.  Our 3 month "anniversary" is on the 9th--better late than never!

We stayed at the RIU Palace Las Americas in Cancun.  It was actually really nice.  We didn't want to over-spend on the honeymoon so we were on a budget and this worked perfectly!

I guess every all-inclusive resort has these in-room liquor dispensers.  Wes was amazed!

Wes is such a sun-worshiper!

I tried to alternate my sun/umbrella time so not to overdo it.

View from my chair at the pool.

Wes cooling off in the pool.

Japanese food in Mexico?  SO good!

 Yep, I married a Baywatch babe.

I want to go on another honeymoon....

Vampires

I have debated confessing my "love" for vampires for a few weeks.  I guess I might as well get it out there. 

My name is Lyndsey, and I like Vampire shows/movies/books. 

I was skeptical of the whole Twilight thing when it first got popular.  I heard how fabulous the books were, but I was an adult.  What would that look like?  To be reading the same books some of the 4th graders at my school were reading?? I think not.  Then, the first Twilight movie came out and I guess I got caught up in all the hype because I bought the first book.  I read it in a weekend and loved it!  I never admitted to anyone I had read it.  

I never even saw the movie until I could secretly add it to my Netflix queue and watch it in private. 

It was ok...but i just had to read the second (and third and fourth) book before the next movie came out.  I sped through Books 2 and 3.

Then, I kinda got stuck on the last one.  I don't know if my timing was off and reading it when I didn't have the time to devote to it or if it was hard to get into it because of how out-there it was.  As if the previous ones had been completely believable...

 

Then, this summer I broke away from the teeny-bopper vamps and got into True Blood on HBO. WOW!!!  I just thought Twilight was good.  Sookie and Bill are intense!  I literally watched 2 seasons in 2 weeks so I could get caught up and catch up on what had already aired of season 3.  

Then, a few weeks ago, something drew me to The Vampire Diaries on Netflix.  I added the first season to my queue thinking I would watch it while Wes was gone to work for so long.  I got the first disk and reluctantly slid it in the DVD player.  I was instantly hooked!  Flew through that disk and all the others as soon as they appeared in the mailbox.  I was so sad when season 1 was over that I bought a season pass on iTunes so i could catch up with season 2 and pick back up with the new shows once they started airing in January.  That took about....3 days.  SO GOOD!  It's a nice mix between the teenage drama of Twilight with some of the grit of True Blood. 

Now, don't get me wrong...I don't do the "memorabilia".  I don't flaunt this.  The fact that this post is even being published is a big step.  

So, please tell me I am not alone.....