School, the story of my life. Well, I have had a good few months off, but fall semester is going to be here before I know it!!! When I left Utah I had just a couple of classes left before I could apply for the RN program at SLCC. Now that I have moved to Montana, it took me back a few classes, but I am excited to start nonetheless. I have 7 classes until I can apply for the LPN program at MSU. Yea!!! I am so excited. It has been a looooong rough road though. Seriously, I feel like I have been in school for 10 years. In preparing for the nursing field, I have been working as a CNA for the last year. I love being a CNA....and yeah, even though it is the dirty work, I do love it. I love my residents, and I feel as close to them as I do my own grandparents. I love helping and taking care of people.
I work at Billings Health and Rehab right now, and have met some of the bestest friends in the entire world. I love it here, and I feel that I click so well with the people in Montana. I am happy. There are a few things I want to change in my life.....one being my weight, but for the most part, I am happy. Jason and I are doing so much better and we are loving being parents to the cutest doggy ever. We love Annie!!! I hope everyone is well. Here are some pics as of late.

A Year of Craziness!!!!!!

Wow. I can't believe it has been a year since I have posted. I really should keep up on this considering that Jason leaves out of town so much and I do have lots of time on my hands when I am not at work.

Where do I even begin?! This year has been absolutely crazy. I now find myself writing this blog in Billings, MT with my little puppy Annie next to me. Last year I would have never thought I would be living out here, and also with a dog! I have been begging Jason for a dog ever since we got together, and it was not until July that he gave in....and now she is his best friend!!! Well, I guess I will begin with our roadtrip to NM. At the beginning of July Jason and I drove to Albuquerque to visit some dear friends of ours who were getting married. It was a fun road trip. We stopped in Moab and spent the night on the way there and had tons of fun :) Secretly the entire trip I had been looking at shih tzu puppies online. I didn't tell Jasonk, and I was not planning on telling him until I found the perfect one. I have always had a love for shih tzus ever since I had one when I was a kid. Well, this is the picture I found online....you can see why Jason fell in love and said that we could get her....



5 days later she was flown to us from Oklahoma. She has been the greatest joy in our life. I don't know what I would do without her. She has gotten me thru some pretty tough times this year....ones that I will tell you about.

3 weeks after we got Annie, Jason told me he had something he needed to tell me, but that it had to wait a few days before all of the details were worked out. I didn't know what the heck it could be (I thought maybe a new house, car, etc)....nothing could have prepared me for what he said. He came home with Morgan Jewlers bag...and just me being a girl I thought he was going to propose. This is what he pulled out of the box...



Pretty huh? Not a ring....but what was behind it was even better. Its called a Pandora charm bracelet. There were 5 charms on it....my birth stone, his birth stone, a travel bag (we love to travel), a heart, and a dog (representing annie). I couldn't believe how amazing and thoughtful it was, but I was still confused on where this was coming from. He went on to tell me that he had been layed off from his job. We were kind of expecting this since earlier that year the division that he managed at Wheeler Machinery had been closed down. He said that he did find another job though, but it was based in Billings, MT. Immediately I was soooo excited because FINALLY, I get to move out of Utah!!! He went on to say that he would be on a six month contract with this company, and if they did not like him at the end of 6 months he would be on the job hunt again. This was the worse part.....he told me I could not move with him. I started bawling. I didn't know what to do. I felt like my world had ended. He promised that at the end of six months he would move me out there if the job worked out, and if it didn't, he would be back. I just couldn't fathom being away from him for that long. Part of me did not think it was fair. I had to go along with it though.....and being the supportive girlfriend I have always promised myself to be....I did. His work threw a going away party for him. Here are some pics from that....







2 months later he left. I stayed in the apartment where we lived with Annie and the rest of our furniture and stuff. It was a comfort to me....because at least I was with all of our stuff....all of his stuff. He flew me out to Seattle a few weeks later to spend the weekend with him and it was a blast!! And, it was so good to see him. I had never been to Seattle before, so it was really cool to see everything. When he took me to the airport on the last day, I just started bawling again. It was so hard leaving. Here are some pics from that...











Things were going well for a month. Then it started getting really hard, and I started really questioning why he would leave me and not take me with. I started to get really resentful....and little did I know he was going thru some of his own stuff out in Billings. He wasn't sure if he liked the job....along with a few other things. Things just weren't going well to say the least. Right before Thanksgiving we pretty much broke up. This was the worst time of my life. I felt like I had lost everything. Not only was I living in the place where we had built our relationship, but I had all these reminders of everything surrounding me all day.....plus the bracelet that I was wearing. It was terrible. I got so sad that all I did was lay in bed all day. I wanted to die. This is where I gained a greater love for my little Annie. She knew I was sad and would lay there by me all day long. I have a greater appreciation for dogs after this experience. This went by for about a week until Jason and I reconciled and I told him either I move out to Billings with him, or I am moving to Iowa to live with my sister. He immediately moved me up here and we had Thanksgiving together. He was having a hard time without me too... Let me just tell you, that was the worse week of my life without him. I felt so empty inside. We knew though that we couldn't just give up on what we spent 3 years building. It just didn't make sense. So now...I am here. Jason and I are doing better than ever. Yes, we still have our arguments (like every couple)....but for the most part we are doing absolutely amazing, and this move has brought us so much closer!!!! I got a job at Billings Health and Rehab as a CNA (yes, I am a CNA now!)...and I love it!!! I am learning so much. I have been here a little over a month, and it feels like home. Sorry Utahns...but I am glad to be out of there!!!! I don't even really miss anyone or anything that much to be honest. I love everyone, but I was ready to get out. Anyway, so that is my crazy year. I will post pics of Annie and my place in Billings :)

A Girl's Night....Well, Sorta

So....Jason goes out of town a lot....as I think most of you know.. Well, when he left on Thursday he told me to have a girls night out on Friday and just have fun. How nice huh? He even left me some cash!!! I couldn't not take advantage of it, and plus it has been sooo long since I have been out with the girls! We met at my good friend Morgan's house and then met up with our other two friends Thelma and Kindey. First we made a stop at The Olive Garden...then we walked to The Red Door which is a really nice martini bar and had some martinis and a really good "chocolate cake" shot. Then....we went to Gracie's and had a few more drinks. It was so much fun!!! Halfways thru out night though, Thelma's boyfriend and Kindey's husband met up with us!!!! I guess that was ok....but then I was the 5th wheel!! It was so much fun though to get out on the town and have fun!!! Here are some pics from the night!!!