Our Life

Since school started, Bear is rarely at home. If he is at home he is reading, writing, or thinking. He is in the midst of writing grant proposals (to get money to do research) and gosh darn-it they are so picky with how they want it written that it seems to a never ending process. Once that is done (no pressure of Bear) both Bear and I will be jumping for joy! I have also been keeping myself busy, as you can see in the last post I started a photography business, yeah for me! I have been up and running for almost a week. I have gotten some calls and will have a booth at the local dog trick or treat carnival this coming Saturday. I realized this is my passion and I needed to stop making excuses for myself and do what I have been wanting to do. So I did and so far I am enjoying myself. No, it is not bringing in a lot of money but I am happy and feel very accomplished.  I have a lot to be thankful for. Bear is extremely supportive and pushes me in all the right directions. He gives me pep talks and is constantly telling me that he is proud of me. He truly is a dream. I could not of ask for anything better. Although we have been busy in our individual lives, it is a wonderful feeling to be able to know that I get to crawl into bed with the man of my dreams every night. Those couple of minutes before we drift off to sleep,  the world around us has been forgotten and we are cuddled up in each others arms, those are the minutes that make my day complete. Last night Bear and I were just getting into bed when Shento comes running up and crawls right in the middle of us. Bear and I put our arms around him and of course tell him how amazing of a dog/child he is. It was a great moment. A moment that made me realize that this is our family and I could not be happier.

I have some exciting news!

Is up and running. Please go check it out. And if you live in the New Jersey area book a session today!! photographybykbrooks.blogspot.com

Also, my etsy photography site is up and running. PhotoKB.etsy.com . This is your chance to go and purchase any of my nature photographs.

Thanks and have a wonderful day :) 

Date Night + Tree Down

Date nights are (use to be) a weekly thing at our house. It gives us something to look forward too. Plus, it is one of the only times that I get to sit down with the hubby and have a "real" conversation, none of the school talk, although I do think that school is important, I hear enough of it throughout the week. This weeks date night was a surprise. Hubby has been so (emphasis on so) busy that our date nights have been put to the side for a little while. However, on Wednesday night Hubby walks through the door with flowers, a box of popcorn, and a movie. I made chinese food and we cuddled on the couch. Mind you, it had been clear all day and night. We even sat outside and enjoyed the sunset. Well, the sunset was gone and the clear sky had past. The wind blew in and the rain was coming down. Lighting was illuminating the sky. It made our date night that much more romantic. Rain always seems to add a little romance to things. It stormed all night, we listened to the rain hit our roof as we fell asleep. The next morning, out our back window the tree had fallen down.

Happy Fall

Fall around here is breathtaking, the color of the leaves are radiant. And since I  have been waiting for this season since the start of summer, I am thrilled. Pumpkins, apple picking, soup making, and sweater wearing.. oh I am getting excited. Happy Fall!!

Raritan River Walk

 

        

The leaves are slowly starting to change color and the weather is finally cooling off here in New Jersey. It is so refreshing to walk outside and not feel the overwhelming heat suffocating you. Shento and I decided to take advantage of this nice weather and hit the Raritan River path for a long walk. This walk has become habit. The hubby, Shento, and myself usually travel the gravel road five or more times a week. We watch the seasons change through the overgrowing trees. In the summer the trees are full, green, making it almost impossible to see through them. As it turns to fall the trees start turning this radiant shade of red and orange. The leaves start to fall making the canal on one side and the Raritan River on the other, easier to see. Come winter all that is left on the trees are their branches and a few icicles on those really chilly days. Once spring arrives the new growth starts to appear and each week the trees become greener and fuller.. and the process starts all over. This walk is lovely, and has been the center of many memories since starting our life here in NJ. 

Weekend Recap

This weekend was relaxing. Bear worked on school things and I made pumpkin cookies. We soaked up the wonderful weather by going to the park. And yes, Bear worked even while we were at the park. Ugh, the joys of being married to a grad student.  

Evening

 

 

Sleeping

Dear Husband,
Thank you for making me get out of bed this morning to take you to school. I am sorry that I was a brat as I was half asleep telling you to leave me alone. I am thankful that you made me get up, plus the kisses as a bribe helped. If I would not of gotten up I would of missed that 30 minute car ride (thanks to all the traffic) which was the result of 30 extra minutes with you.

Loves to you

Sincerely,
Your sleeping wife

Step-by-Step

 The past 2 months have been rejuvenating. I have been unemployed and reaching deep down inside my soul to find out what my true passions, enjoyments, goals, and life’s delights really are. I thought and prayed about all my feelings. I have reached the stage were I feel content. Really, really content. So content that just thinking about everything puts a huge smile on my face. For the first time since I have been married I am not over-thinking the future, I am taking everything step by step. The hubby told me this when I was considering quitting my job. He said everything comes in steps,  I need to not look at step 7 before I accomplish steps 1 through 6. In that case my first step was quitting my job. Next, pack our bags for Utah and enjoy the much-needed break. Once we got back in New Jersey I needed to do something everyday that revolved around a “could be” job, such as applying for jobs, following up with people or emailing people and asking questions.  Lastly, once I got an interview the next step was to practice going over interview questions. Voila. My step-by-step program. While this was happening, instead of over-thinking every little thing about our future, I was able to fill my thoughts with little tasks that will help me build the future that I want. And although there are still anticipation or questions about when and how things will happen, I feel good. 

Black & White Rainy Sunday

4

Our wonderful, amazing, cute, obedient, sweet, loving puppy turned 4 years old yesterday. 

We celebrated puppy style. 

Janice Came to my Rescue

 

  

She helped me out so much preparing and executing the BBQ bash that we had on Labor Day. However, we could not work all day and have no fun so.. we went to Princeton on Saturday. We shopped and I laughed so hard at some of the things that we tried on in the dressing room that there was a second when I thought I might wet my pants.  We ate yummy yogurt with lots of crazy toppings and wondered around the Princeton campus and pretended to be ivy-league students (ha ha). We went to Trader Joe's and got things to make dinner for that evening and wondered around anthropology making mental notes of everything that we wanted. Lastly, we went and ate (stuffed our faces) a huge thing of fries at five guys. Yes, it sounded like our day revolved around eating food, yummy food for that matter, but we had a lot of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

Labor Day BBQ Bash

 

Our Labor Day BBQ Bash consisted of lots of fun anthropology grad students, pretty decorations, yummy food and lots of it, dancing, laughing, playing games, and enjoying everyones company. The only problem is that I did not take any pictures besides a couple before anyone even showed up. Oh well. The BBQ went off with out any problems. I was a little worried. I had never entertained 25 plus people in my house. It was a scary thought. But thanks to Janice, who enthusiastically came up from D.C, we pulled everything together. The weather turned out great and people enjoyed themselves inside and outside. We set up tables and chairs (that i collected from varies neighbors) out in the backyard, along with horseshoes, a football, and a frisbee. Bear did a fabulous job as grill master and it was a lot of fun chit chatting with all the students. It was a a great way to kick off the school year and say goodbye to summer.  

School is back in session

Summer has come to an end. We must say goodbye and get back into the swing of things. Bear started school last week and so far has really enjoyed it. This semester will be his last semester in the classroom. Can you believe that the time has gone by so quickly?  Bear, my amazing grad student hubby will be slightly busy this semester with all of his engagements. He is not only taking his own classes, but also taking the role of a teacher and conducting classes to undergrads. Three classes to be exact and each have about 20 students. Last week he stayed up late to make sure that he had all his material ready and the lesson (outline) planned out for the first day. He even had me sit there as if I was a student and listen to what he was going to say, he did a great job. He is also one of the co-presidents for the anthropology graduate student association and is busy planning parties (we had one this weekend), speaking engagements, and a whole lot of other stuff.  So far, things seem to be running smoothly, but this is only the second week of school. I am sure life will start to become more and more chaotic as the semester continues. However, Bear is really excited about what the semester will bring and all the new experiences we will have. Here’s to a new school year!! 

Great Company and Beautiful Views

As we started the drive back to New Jersey we stopped at Ridgway, Colorado to visit Bear's Aunt and Uncle, Vicci and Charlie. We got a wonderful surprise when we found out that his Aunt Caroline was going to be there also. We had such a great time and enjoyed ever minute with all of them. I can't express to you how beautiful the views that surround them are.  They look out to the San Juan skyway and over the little town of Ridgway. We went for a jeep ride through the old mining country and off roadin up and over big rocks and near some steep cliffs to get to our hiking path. Vicci, myself, and shento all sat in the back of the jeep, we took off the windows and let the breeze blow us away. It was so much fun. And although I got a little nervous about the steep drop offs, I knew we were in good hands with Charlie being the expert jeep driver. Our hike was stunning.  We got to see a couple old mining houses that have fallen down, beautiful streams running throughout and a crystal clear lake. Once we made it to the lake (our stopping point) we explored awhile and then sat down and relaxed. Bear tried to fly fish, however we were so high up that we were sure there was no fish living in the lake.  We ate lunch at 12,000 feet and enjoyed the spectacular views. We then headed back into the jeep for some more off roadin. We had such a memorable time. After our jeepin and hiking adventure we headed back to their house to enjoy the evening with Caroline and her friend Barbara.  Vicci made a wonderful dinner and we enjoyed the evening chatting and laughing with everyone.  Bear and I both were so grateful to be able to spend time with all of them. We miss all of them very much. Thank you for making us feel so at home and so welcome.  P.S Charlie, I had to put at least one picture up of you, and the once I chose happen to be such a good one that it was hard to resist. :)