Anyone want to RENT?

Hey there-

We're testing the waters a bit to see if there are any folks interested in renting our dear little home. It would be great for 2 adults or a small family. Pictures are below. Email me if you want more info. It would be available July 1.  House is in Southside- great front porch, back deck, off street parking, and brand new kitchen. Washer/Dryer stays.

Click here

for more photos.

email me if you might be interested! brooke.jared@gmail.com

back

ah- it's been a long day of driving, but we are home.  We hit our low point when we started singing Chicago songs, with Peter Cetera impersonations. We also realized that for all of my adult life, I thought that song "everybody needs a little time away, bla bla bla" said "after all the WHO you've been through,  I will make it up to you". Josh was like, "all the WHO?" , "what does that even mean?", to which he explained, "it's after all THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH"- If you know me at all, I make up words ALOT, but I am pretty impressed with that one. pretty darn impressed. 

So, we have a place to live. yay. It's a great house, in a great neighborhood, near lots of things- so I am as pleased as can be. Now we start the arduous task up packing up life, oh and we still need nothing short of a miracle- we need to sell the house. which is causing me more anxiety than I care to have at this point.

good nite folks-

update-

Job offer in Tulsa- check.

Two promising Rental houses that we really, really like- looking at tomorrow.

We're making progress. bit by bit. one melt down at a time.

tulsa

well, we've spent the last couple of days in Yukon, with Josh's family. We've been celebrating birthdays and spending time with little nieces and a very small (and cute) nephew. It was fun, and I didn't really want it to end, because I knew Tulsa would be our next stop- and that's a big stop.

We drove in, and I immediately started decompensating:) It WAS lunch time, and I needed some food, but it was also incredibly overwhelming to drive into a place that will in a few short weeks be my home- and yet it is anything but right now. I am such a home base kind of person. I need a starting point, something to work from. In Birmingham, we had our church and the neighborhoods around it- here, everything is wide open. and strange, full of strangers. I wanted to cry, and yet wanted to dream big, hopeful dreams, too. But I am too tired, at least today.

We drove around  a good bit today, and saw some neighborhoods. We marked some off the list, which felt good. Elimination is helpful in our case. Tomorrow I interview for  a job, and I am not sure I can actually button the pants that I brought. The pooch, is pooching- although it looks less like pregnant pooch, and more like I ate one too many cheeseburgers:)

I know that things generally work out, and I am praying things will for us. Life feels so hypothetical right now. We're "moving" to Tulsa. We are "having a baby". We are "selling our house"- yet none of these things have actually happened, and I wonder to myself how it all will.

but it will. right?

10 weeks

I made it to 10 weeks!  I had my first prenatal/OB visit today, and it went very well. We saw the baby again (4th ultrasound) and heard it's robust heartbeat for the first time. That was a beautiful sound, though the ultrasound tech was having a hard time recording it because the baby was jumping around so much. It's a pretty amazing thing to watch the baby grow so much from week to week. We've been spoiled with the ultrasounds so far, I am so thankful.

I am feeling somewhat better during the day, though at night it all comes back with a vengeance. 

That's okay, though. I take my breaks where I can get them.

Other than that, things finally slow down this week. I have been doing lots of photography, which has been fun, but I am ready for a little break...

Next week, we plan on being in Tulsa, scouting out the place. I hope it will be more fun than overwhelming. I am more nervous about the car ride than anything- pregnant plus sick plus 10 hours of driving equals....not good.

sigh upon sigh.

Soooo. I need a good book and some good music. Bring on the suggestions!!!!

photoblog

I have lots of slideshows up over here, for those who like such things....

4 years

I married this guy 4 years ago today. Isn't he cute? I think so....

Love you Josh.

whew.

Well, I don't know if I am coping a little better, or if I am turning the corner, but I seem to not dread each coming day and the amount of nausea it might bring.  I have been super busy with photography, which is both good and sad. I've been spreading my photography wings and learning so much, it is disappointing to move from here and start it all over again. I have really enjoyed the way my business has grown, through friends and word of mouth. I always wanted this business to have a storefront feel, although there is no store and no front. But you know, that local, my photographer and  my friend kind of feel.  I have no friends in Tulsa (yet), so it will be a bit more challenging for sure. But it will happen, and it will be fun.

I am feeling less and less inclined to do nursing after the move. Granted, I have worked in one the most stressful work environments for the past ten years- heart surgery. And although I enjoy it, find it challenging, and am proud of the years I have logged there- I am also worn out, tired of stressful situations, long hours, getting called in the middle of the night, and so on. My temptation with nursing has always been the moo-la. I want to make money so I can have more money, because I think that brings me safety and acceptance.

And yet, the happiest, hands down, I have ever been was my time in St. Louis. When I had very little money, and we lived simple, happy lives. There is something to simplicity and the clutter it takes out of your lives. Now, I also know that NOT having money can be just as stressful. I know, I know. I am just saying, there are some things I can HAVE by HAVING less- peace of mind and clarity and time with people and family. I want this more. I was less distraction. I want the TV off and the windows open. I want the Beatles playing, and I want my mind to be engaged in things that bring life.

I have been craving this so much lately.

why i love josh

one of the reasons i love josh, is that you always get a little more than you bargained for. and it's usually funny- albeit a tad cynical...

a conversation from today- (a little background, I take photos of listings for  real estate agents for a little extra cash)

me: I had to drive really far out today in Alabaster to these townhouses. It was so random, you just drive by the hospital and go up this huge hill, and there you have townhomes. It seemed like a strange place for a plot of townhouses.

josh: well, brooke, that's what urban sprawl IS. random. They tear down a bunch a land, build 30 townhomes, turn 20 grand on each, and then name the place "quail run", because it used to be a place where QUAIL would RUN...until they bulldozed it.

me: laughing.  thinking, I should've seen that coming.

so many opinions, that josh. I love him, though. love him to pieces.

disclaimer

it actually might get annoying to hear the play by play of my current pregnancy, so I apologize in advance if this blog becomes a total bore.  It might have already been a total bore, and that's okay too:)

Sooo, today was a success. very little nausea. how did this happen you might ask? I ate almost EVERY HOUR. Seriously, it was ridiculous. But it worked. If I keep doing that, things are not going to be pretty in the weight department. Thankfully (or not), I usually am not home all day and able to eat EVERY HOUR. Maybe God was having mercy on me, as yesterday was horrible. I actually threw up spontaneously twice. I mean, I know that is gross, but it was also funny. One time I was just walking to the laundry room, and there you go. That is just not right. not right at all.

I am also very embarrassed by the kind of things I am eating. Things that I have put in my past. Things like Kraft macaroni and cheese. Yep, breakfast, lunch, and dinner today. gross.

I actually bought Ramen noodles on purpose the other day, too. That was interesting.

Root Beer.  I have a new found love for root beer.

Hopefully my 2nd trimester will bring better nutrition. 

still here.

I just love these beautiful days we are having. I don't feel like doing much, but just getting outside and breathing it all in just feels so good and right. This morning was absolutely perfect. I so wanted to go sit outside at Rojo and enjoy the people and dogs and life walking by- but I just have to dream these days, as none of that is really as enjoyable as imagined. I know that this will be worth it. I know that THIS is what I have longed so much for. 

I miss seeing people though, and church. I get so ill in the evening, I hardly have the fight to push through a night out or worship. So, I miss all you people that I usually see at RMC, I miss the connections I was just beginning to make. I miss me- in a non self absorbed  way- the me that likes long conversations and walks and making new friends.

On another note- we are still trying to sell our house. I am growing ever anxious as to how this will all play out, our move to Tulsa and all. I know it will be okay, but I wish that something would come easy. Dear God, did you hear that, just one easy thing, pretty please?

I guess that's it for now. Back to my zofran taking, popsicle eating, mostly lying flat life. 

But it's worth it. It will be. It will be. It will be:)