Settling into a New Routine

The last two weeks were somewhat of a doozy for each of us. Stephen had his first two weeks of classes and I had my first two weeks at my new job. And, Captain Flint was getting used to his new home! After a month and a half of focusing on the move and settling in Greenville, we were ready for a routine again, but 6:30am sure does come early. Here's an update from each of us!

Buzzy:
 Well so far the best way to describe school is like riding a merry go round that doesn't stop.  It slows down a bit each Wednesday after our weekly test and then right as you think you can hop off and take a break it speeds right back up again.  I had though that with my degree in dental hygiene, all of my work experience, and my strong performance in some science classes last year at state, that I would blow this stuff out of the water.  Nope! The tests are harder than I expected, but the hardest part is just staying focused for eight hours of lecture each day.  Anyway, it looks like we are starting to make our way out of the basic sciences (yes we have covered them all in full depth in 2 weeks) and into dental specific material, so hopefully my experience will begin to pay off now.  I am still getting to know a lot of my classmates and really enjoying the whole experience.

My sweet vee dub had been making a clicking noise around one of the wheels for a while and I finally picked a mechanic down here and took it in to have it looked at.  That afternoon they gave me a call and let me know that they had figured the clicking out and it would be a cheaper fix than I was anticipating :), however, my engine mounts had worn out and let the engine sag and bent the front axles :(.  So I spent a few days terrorizing the school parking lot in my truck while we decided what to do, but no AC in the Greenville summer is not cool.  Literally.  Since my car has 200,000 miles and a few small "quirks" Kristin was of the opinion that we should cut bait and get something more reliable, but cooler heads prevailed and I got to pour some more money into fixing it up and am back on the road in style.

Buckwheat:
I had a great first week at work; I'm so thankful for the company I am with and the opportunity to learn from them! The week was busy with a lot of errands like going to the post office and to local banks. The man who usually does this was on vacation so it was nice to fill much of my time with things that no one really had to explain to me while I learn more things about the office and my projects. I also received some in-depth teaching on important spreadsheets for the company that I will be updating annually... time to dig deep back to my early days at Clearwater and remember those accounting classes with Dr. Duncan!

A couple of days in the past two weeks were somewhat overwhelming, but I am beginning to understand more. My co-workers were very helpful and are being so patient as I learn. We had a birthday party with chocolate cake last Thursday, donuts each Friday morning, and a farewell pizza party at lunch last Friday--I think this is going to be a fun place to work (or at least a yummy place)!!

One thing I have learned is that I had been spoiled in my previous workplaces to have utensils, drinks, cups, coffee, etc. all free and waiting for me to use them. Last week I forgot to take a cup and fork to work with me the one day I was eating lunch at the office and I was out of luck. One co-worker was gracious enough to bestow upon me one of her fine plastic forks, but after going the whole day without water I was ready to drink straight out of the spout on the cooler. Needless to say, I have a backup water bottle and some plastic utensils stashed in my drawer now, so hopefully I won't make that rookie mistake again!

We also loved having my parents, Hilary, Colin, and Lexie come visit on Labor Day! It was such a nice break from work and school, and so good to see them! We hope to go home again soon to visit once we are a little more comfortable with our new schedule. For now, we are chilling on the weekends, Stephen is doing a lot of studying, and we are enjoying our new church, Integrity. We're going to visit a Life Group this week and hope to join one soon so we can get to know more people there!

Flinty:
I got settled in my little kitten room and loved how cozy it was. After a couple days, I was feeling much more comfortable with my new home and playing all the time, up and down the stairs and chasing feathers! I even hid behind the fridge so quietly that mommy and daddy thought I had run away--it was warm and cozy back there and I was just so sleepy! They left me every day, but I slept while they were gone and they came home to eat lunch and play with me. Last Wednesday, I moved up to my big boy room and have lots of space to roam now. Mommy said that my kitty mommy has been sad and is missing me. I miss her too, but I like my new home. I got to meet some new friends, Evan and Elizabeth, last Thursday night and had fun playing with them!

I also met some of my family! Mommy and Daddy were so excited to have them come visit for the day and I loved meeting and playing with them. My aunt Lexie is pretty cool, I want to hang out with her more soon.

I had to go to this really scary place all day on Tuesday without my mommy and daddy. The people there were really nice but they poked me a lot, and then I got a really good nap. Once I woke up, I went back home even though I was still verrryy sleepy but after a while I was wide awake and playing again.

Well, that's it for now! It's time to get started on a new week--hope you have a great one!