I left a to do list on the fridge for Jon before I left on my trip to Utah. Knowing that he is a dutiful perfectionist, I was reasonably sure that he would complete it before I came back, so I sneakily hid "BLOG" among the more practical items on the list. Sure enough, it worked. :)
The visit to Provo was great. I now feel like a bona fide aunt, having held, changed and even burped baby (aka Brooklyn). She is the most precious thing I have ever seen! When baby left for Japan, though, I booked it back to Baltimore to see my to-do-list-completing husband.
We had a great Fourth of July weekend, including watching fireworks shoot off over the Washington Monument and listening to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra perform to more fireworks on the 5th. It's been great to be home.
And now, on to graver matters. I have continued, and accelerated my job search. I mentioned an upcoming interview in a previous post. It went well, but while there, I learned that the position was not quite what I had expected, so when they offered me the job a few days later, I was more than hesitant. However, the offer made me think more seriously about applying to the public schools. I was a little worried about that, because, this late in the game (school starts next month) I figured all the positions would be filled. Boy was I wrong. I applied to Baltimore County School District, but it feels more like the schools are applying to me. My week was pretty much instantly filled with interviews, and the calls are still coming. The interviews I have been to so far felt like the schools were selling themselves to me (to be fair, they did ask a good number of traditional interview questions first), and have all ended with them asking me to please keep them in mind, and telling me that they don't think I'll find a better school than theirs. So, this has been an interesting week. And it's only Tuesday.
I am excited to learn more about the school district, and I am a little nervous about figuring out which is the best place for me, but I am quite confident that I will end up with a job one way or another.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Jon's Big Debut
So it finally happened. I finally broke down and decided to blog for the first time. It's all downhill from here. I'm sure Sarah will be very pleased to see this. I would have to attribute this posting to the fact Sarah isn't here with me and that I have a lot of free time. For those who don't know, Sarah has left us...and gone to Utah to see her sister's new baby. I wanted to come along, but someone had to hold down the fort. She has been gone for 5 days and I'm very excited for her to come back tomorrow. We have some fun plans for the 4th of July. We will be going down to D.C. to see the fireworks. The next night we will spend outside with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a musical fireworks show. Well, that was my first attempt at "blogging" or whatever you kids call it these days. Stay tuned for more from yours truly...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Drowning in Domesticity
As of yesterday, Jon and I have been married a whole month, and now consider ourselves experts on all things marriage related. :) Just kidding. It has been a great month, and we love each other more than ever. Since moving to Baltimore, I have started a new chapter in my life. It's called "Unemployment". It's really not as bad as it sounds. I've been looking around a bit, but I haven't really decided exactly what I want to do, or rather, I haven't really figured out exactly what I should do. So I have had lots of time to pursue other interests...like, cooking! I have found out that I actually like to cook! One of our favorite restaurants in Provo is the Bombay House, so for our one month "anniversary", I decided to try my hand at a curry. I have NEVER cooked a curry dish before. I don't even think I've ever had a homemade curry, but I tried to be brave, and it turned out amazingly well. Not that I just discovered the secret to good curry making...I had some help, in the form of the Better Homes and Gardens red checker cookbook, but I was truly impressed with myself. And with how simple it really turned out to be. I have also been sewing, ironing, cleaning and doing laundry. I am reaching heights of domesticity I never thought possible. Today I'm actually going to attempt to make pizza crust from scratch with real yeast and everything. Lofty goal, I know, but I figure if it bombs, I'll just run to the grocery store, buy a pre-made pizza crust, and Jon will never know the difference!
Speaking of grocery stores, it has been quite the adventure finding a good one. There is a place called "Mars" just up the street making for maximum convenience. However, it seems like the closet place is never that great, and this has proven to be true in our case. I've gone there a couple times, but have come to realize that the prices are high, the selection is poor, and the produce is pitiful. I couldn't even find chili sauce or jalapeno peppers there! So on Saturday night when I realized that I desperately needed the chili sauce for Sunday's "pulled pork in root beer sauce" (Yes, that's right, I just said root beer sauce. I'll have you know it was delicious.), we ventured a few more minutes up the street to the "Super Fresh". I was shocked. The superiority of the Super Fresh to Mars was immediately obvious. The selection was amazing, the floors were shiny, and the produce section was huge. I'm sure I would have had no problem finding jalapenos there, and I swore that from then on out, I would be shopping at Super Fresh. But I totally forgot that I needed the jalapenos, and on Sunday, the bishop's wife was telling me about the area, and said that the "Weis" (they call it the We Is, because apparently it used to be really ghetto, but now it's super nice) that is even a little bit further up the street has the best selection and the best prices. So yesterday when I remembered that I needed jalapenos, I decided to check it out. And let me tell you, all loyalties to Super Fresh were instantly swept away. I was seduced by the luscious bakery, the gourmet deli, the "build it yourself" salad bar, the huge selection, the lack of any alcohol whatsoever in the entire store, and the gorgeous gardening section. I mean, the place even had a "dollar section", and we all know that anything that costs a dollar is practically free and need not be accounted for in any budget. Now, I was a huge fan of Macey's back in Provo. I even know personally Ben Macey, grandson of founder Waldo Macey, and feel a certain allegiance to the place...but the Weis gives Macey's, Smith's, Reams and Albertson's a run for their money! I think I have found my match in grocery stores. I hear there is an even nicer place about 20 minutes away (it has been called the Gucci of Grocery), but I'm just not sure I could handle anything better than the Weis.
How life has changed...when I was lost in the middle of research papers and lesson plans I never thought I would think so much about grocery stores. But lest I get over zealous with the whole domestic thing, I do have a job interview tomorrow. It is for a Spanish Teaching position at a private school for students with special needs. It seems like a really neat place, and I'm excited to learn more about it.
Speaking of grocery stores, it has been quite the adventure finding a good one. There is a place called "Mars" just up the street making for maximum convenience. However, it seems like the closet place is never that great, and this has proven to be true in our case. I've gone there a couple times, but have come to realize that the prices are high, the selection is poor, and the produce is pitiful. I couldn't even find chili sauce or jalapeno peppers there! So on Saturday night when I realized that I desperately needed the chili sauce for Sunday's "pulled pork in root beer sauce" (Yes, that's right, I just said root beer sauce. I'll have you know it was delicious.), we ventured a few more minutes up the street to the "Super Fresh". I was shocked. The superiority of the Super Fresh to Mars was immediately obvious. The selection was amazing, the floors were shiny, and the produce section was huge. I'm sure I would have had no problem finding jalapenos there, and I swore that from then on out, I would be shopping at Super Fresh. But I totally forgot that I needed the jalapenos, and on Sunday, the bishop's wife was telling me about the area, and said that the "Weis" (they call it the We Is, because apparently it used to be really ghetto, but now it's super nice) that is even a little bit further up the street has the best selection and the best prices. So yesterday when I remembered that I needed jalapenos, I decided to check it out. And let me tell you, all loyalties to Super Fresh were instantly swept away. I was seduced by the luscious bakery, the gourmet deli, the "build it yourself" salad bar, the huge selection, the lack of any alcohol whatsoever in the entire store, and the gorgeous gardening section. I mean, the place even had a "dollar section", and we all know that anything that costs a dollar is practically free and need not be accounted for in any budget. Now, I was a huge fan of Macey's back in Provo. I even know personally Ben Macey, grandson of founder Waldo Macey, and feel a certain allegiance to the place...but the Weis gives Macey's, Smith's, Reams and Albertson's a run for their money! I think I have found my match in grocery stores. I hear there is an even nicer place about 20 minutes away (it has been called the Gucci of Grocery), but I'm just not sure I could handle anything better than the Weis.
How life has changed...when I was lost in the middle of research papers and lesson plans I never thought I would think so much about grocery stores. But lest I get over zealous with the whole domestic thing, I do have a job interview tomorrow. It is for a Spanish Teaching position at a private school for students with special needs. It seems like a really neat place, and I'm excited to learn more about it.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Be ye one...
Jon and I are working on "becoming one" and have decided that part of that process is to become one in the blogosphere. I've added him as an author on this blog, so make sure you watch to see who's posting!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Happiness.
We did it! We tied the knot in the Manti Temple on May 23rd. It was absolutely the best day of my life, and I couldn't be happier to be starting a new life with my new (wonderful) husband.
(I'll post more pictures soon, I promise...I'm just waiting to get them back from the photographer)
Since then, we have been in for a wild ride! I'll post a brief timeline of our lives, post-marriage.
May 24-31: We honeymooned on a cruise that stopped in Progreso and Cozumel Mexico. The weather was great and the ship was so relaxing. It was great to not have to worry about anything...no cooking or cleaning or working. One of our favorite things was that the housekeeping staff left a towel animal in our room every evening. We also had a great time on the beaches of Progreso and Cozumel. In Cozumel we got to drive a dune buggy to a remote beach and snorkel. It was a blast! We also just loved lounging on the deck.
May 31: We got back from our cruise just in time for our open house at the Leininger residence in Texas. It was beautiful, and it was great to see all the Texas friends and family. We spent the next day hanging out with Jon's family, and we had a blast. We wished we could have stayed longer.
June 2-4: We flew back to Utah to pack up our things, say a few last goodbyes, and load the U-haul. I don't remember much of what happened in the days we were there besides cardboard boxes and junk food, but we apparently accomplished what we set out to do.
June 5: Moving day! We got up early, hugged my family goodbye, and started our journey east. This was the worst day of the trip...we were on the road for about 15 hours. Jon drove the whole way and was a trooper about it. We finally reached our stop in Omaha at about 11:30pm. It's amazing how tiring it can be to sit in a car all day!
June 6: After a good night's rest in Omaha, we spent the day with Lisa and the boys. We went to the Omaha Zoo, which is excellent, and had a fun time hauling around the twins and little Benjamin. That evening, after a great meal (Lisa spoiled us!) we all headed to Nauvoo, and got in around midnight. Jon and I checked in to the Hotel Nauvoo, a historic home that has been transformed into a hotel. It was small but really cute, and was our home for two nights.
June 7: We saw the sights in Nauvoo, starting with a wagon ride through the historic part, and then met up with Lisa, Bill and the boys for lunch. Our favorite was the brick yard because we got a free Nauvoo brick. After lunch, we drove to Carthage, which was a really incredible experience, and then we attended the Nauvoo temple, which was probably the highlight of the entire trip. It is absolutely beautiful, inside and out!
June 8: We went to church in the morning in Nauvoo, and then we headed for Indianapolis, Indiana to visit Joseph and Megan who are working there for the summer. We had a great dinner with them, and took a fun trip to a river and an artesian well near their apartment. It was a great stop!
June 9: We packed up our air mattress, and headed for Kirtland, Ohio. We went on a tour of all the Church's historic sites, like the Newel K Whitney store and the School of the Prophets. I really liked the ashery and the lumber mill too. We got there too late to tour the Kirtland Temple, but we walked around the outside. We stayed in a Day's Inn that night. I wouldn't recommend it.
June 10: We headed downstairs to a continental breakfast that was by far the worst one I have ever seen. To top it all off, another guest spilled an entire pitcher of milk, the image of which will be forever engraved in my mind as a white tidal wave covering Jon. It was sad but hilarious. We got out of there as soon as we could to start the last leg of our journey. The trip was punctuated with anxious phone inquiries about Maria's labor process, which only served to make it more exciting. We arrived in Baltimore sometime after 4pm, went straight to the leasing office, and signed a year lease on an apartment that we had been looking at. It was about 100 degrees out, plus humidity, but we somehow hauled all of our earthly belongings to our second story apartment, just the two of us. In the process, we made friends with our downstairs neighbor, Byrne, and his cat, One-eyed Willy (I added the "one-eyed" part to his name, but he deserves it...he really has one eye).
June 11-14: We began the "moving-in" process on little sleep...at 3:30 am our time, we got a phone call that Maria had given birth to Brooklyn Marie Oka. We were so excited that the lack of sleep didn't bother us. I can't wait to go see her! We have been unpacking, shopping, and acquiring furniture. We came here with zero furniture, and through many great blessings known as Ikea, Wal-mart, Value City, and especially Craig's List, we have now fully furnished our 2-bed 2-bath apartment for under $1500. It's been amazing to see things come together so quickly and so econimically. I LOVE our apartment, and it is really starting to feel like a home.
June 15: We attended church in our new ward, the Chesapeake ward, and felt very welcomed. It is a really diverse ward, and we are excited to make new friends.
June 16: Jon's first day of work at Lockheed-Martin. Since we currently only have one vehicle, and since I am looking for a job, I dropped him off at 8am, and kissed him goodbye. I then proceeded to spend a very long nine and a half hours by myself. My only human contact was with the customer service help line at Target.com where I ordered a vacuum. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, and we had a great dinner and first FHE in our new home together.
June 17: Pretty much a repeat of yesterday, except I went to Wal-mart and didn't fall asleep on the couch for two hours. And I applied for some jobs. We'll see how that goes...Hopefully this has been an adequate update. More to come on our adventures in the great state of Maryland. Tonight's exciting activity? Discuss and sign up for health insurance!
(I'll post more pictures soon, I promise...I'm just waiting to get them back from the photographer)Since then, we have been in for a wild ride! I'll post a brief timeline of our lives, post-marriage.
May 24-31: We honeymooned on a cruise that stopped in Progreso and Cozumel Mexico. The weather was great and the ship was so relaxing. It was great to not have to worry about anything...no cooking or cleaning or working. One of our favorite things was that the housekeeping staff left a towel animal in our room every evening. We also had a great time on the beaches of Progreso and Cozumel. In Cozumel we got to drive a dune buggy to a remote beach and snorkel. It was a blast! We also just loved lounging on the deck.
May 31: We got back from our cruise just in time for our open house at the Leininger residence in Texas. It was beautiful, and it was great to see all the Texas friends and family. We spent the next day hanging out with Jon's family, and we had a blast. We wished we could have stayed longer.
June 2-4: We flew back to Utah to pack up our things, say a few last goodbyes, and load the U-haul. I don't remember much of what happened in the days we were there besides cardboard boxes and junk food, but we apparently accomplished what we set out to do.
June 5: Moving day! We got up early, hugged my family goodbye, and started our journey east. This was the worst day of the trip...we were on the road for about 15 hours. Jon drove the whole way and was a trooper about it. We finally reached our stop in Omaha at about 11:30pm. It's amazing how tiring it can be to sit in a car all day!
June 6: After a good night's rest in Omaha, we spent the day with Lisa and the boys. We went to the Omaha Zoo, which is excellent, and had a fun time hauling around the twins and little Benjamin. That evening, after a great meal (Lisa spoiled us!) we all headed to Nauvoo, and got in around midnight. Jon and I checked in to the Hotel Nauvoo, a historic home that has been transformed into a hotel. It was small but really cute, and was our home for two nights.
June 7: We saw the sights in Nauvoo, starting with a wagon ride through the historic part, and then met up with Lisa, Bill and the boys for lunch. Our favorite was the brick yard because we got a free Nauvoo brick. After lunch, we drove to Carthage, which was a really incredible experience, and then we attended the Nauvoo temple, which was probably the highlight of the entire trip. It is absolutely beautiful, inside and out!
June 8: We went to church in the morning in Nauvoo, and then we headed for Indianapolis, Indiana to visit Joseph and Megan who are working there for the summer. We had a great dinner with them, and took a fun trip to a river and an artesian well near their apartment. It was a great stop!
June 9: We packed up our air mattress, and headed for Kirtland, Ohio. We went on a tour of all the Church's historic sites, like the Newel K Whitney store and the School of the Prophets. I really liked the ashery and the lumber mill too. We got there too late to tour the Kirtland Temple, but we walked around the outside. We stayed in a Day's Inn that night. I wouldn't recommend it.
June 10: We headed downstairs to a continental breakfast that was by far the worst one I have ever seen. To top it all off, another guest spilled an entire pitcher of milk, the image of which will be forever engraved in my mind as a white tidal wave covering Jon. It was sad but hilarious. We got out of there as soon as we could to start the last leg of our journey. The trip was punctuated with anxious phone inquiries about Maria's labor process, which only served to make it more exciting. We arrived in Baltimore sometime after 4pm, went straight to the leasing office, and signed a year lease on an apartment that we had been looking at. It was about 100 degrees out, plus humidity, but we somehow hauled all of our earthly belongings to our second story apartment, just the two of us. In the process, we made friends with our downstairs neighbor, Byrne, and his cat, One-eyed Willy (I added the "one-eyed" part to his name, but he deserves it...he really has one eye).
June 11-14: We began the "moving-in" process on little sleep...at 3:30 am our time, we got a phone call that Maria had given birth to Brooklyn Marie Oka. We were so excited that the lack of sleep didn't bother us. I can't wait to go see her! We have been unpacking, shopping, and acquiring furniture. We came here with zero furniture, and through many great blessings known as Ikea, Wal-mart, Value City, and especially Craig's List, we have now fully furnished our 2-bed 2-bath apartment for under $1500. It's been amazing to see things come together so quickly and so econimically. I LOVE our apartment, and it is really starting to feel like a home.
June 15: We attended church in our new ward, the Chesapeake ward, and felt very welcomed. It is a really diverse ward, and we are excited to make new friends.
June 16: Jon's first day of work at Lockheed-Martin. Since we currently only have one vehicle, and since I am looking for a job, I dropped him off at 8am, and kissed him goodbye. I then proceeded to spend a very long nine and a half hours by myself. My only human contact was with the customer service help line at Target.com where I ordered a vacuum. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, and we had a great dinner and first FHE in our new home together.
June 17: Pretty much a repeat of yesterday, except I went to Wal-mart and didn't fall asleep on the couch for two hours. And I applied for some jobs. We'll see how that goes...Hopefully this has been an adequate update. More to come on our adventures in the great state of Maryland. Tonight's exciting activity? Discuss and sign up for health insurance!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
That's a wrap!
As it turns out, wedding planning isn't all that adventurous...we've been stuffing announcements, and we're almost done, though we've been tracking down some last minute addresses. If I don't have yours and you think I should, send it my way! On a more notable note ;), Jon and I both graduated this weekend!! 
It's official. We are done with BYU. Kinda hard to believe, after all these years. His parents came into town for the occasion, and got to meet my family, which was great. Also, his brother Chris, who will be graduating from the U next week, came down. We had a really fun, though tiring weekend. The commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center was packed, and the addresses were actually pretty good. I think what stuck with me the most was the importance of serving with the talents we have and the blessings we've received, and to make learning a lifetime endeavor. I think it was a lot more enjoyable to sit through with Jon by my side. Friday was a little longer, with two convocations to attend. Jon's was first, and the most impressive thing was the titles of the dissertations of those receiving PhD's. Since I graduated from the College of Fine Arts and Communications, I think my ceremony was a little more interesting, and a little more fluffy, with some cool performances and interesting talks. You would think that a theatre major would be totally at home on the DeJong stage, but I have to admit that I had some butterflies before walking across. We finished off the festivities with dinner at Ottavios with both of our families. I think they hit it off. If not, they're good actors.
It's official. We are done with BYU. Kinda hard to believe, after all these years. His parents came into town for the occasion, and got to meet my family, which was great. Also, his brother Chris, who will be graduating from the U next week, came down. We had a really fun, though tiring weekend. The commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center was packed, and the addresses were actually pretty good. I think what stuck with me the most was the importance of serving with the talents we have and the blessings we've received, and to make learning a lifetime endeavor. I think it was a lot more enjoyable to sit through with Jon by my side. Friday was a little longer, with two convocations to attend. Jon's was first, and the most impressive thing was the titles of the dissertations of those receiving PhD's. Since I graduated from the College of Fine Arts and Communications, I think my ceremony was a little more interesting, and a little more fluffy, with some cool performances and interesting talks. You would think that a theatre major would be totally at home on the DeJong stage, but I have to admit that I had some butterflies before walking across. We finished off the festivities with dinner at Ottavios with both of our families. I think they hit it off. If not, they're good actors.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Where in the world...
Who can guess where Sarah and Jon are moving?
Can't guess? Oh fine, here's a hint...
And the verdict is....BALTIMORE!!! (If you couldn't tell, that's a map of Maryland...and I'm deeply offended). Jon officially accepted an offer from Lockheed Martin at one of their Baltimore locations. We are super excited to move to the east coast. All the history, old buildings, small states, cool cities near by, road trip potential, cool people, trees, autumn colors, museums, theatre ...I'm pretty sure this is all a dream, and I keep waiting to wake up. Which, if it indeed is the case, is a big problem, because I probably missed a whole lot of school. Anyway, if you are anywhere in the area, give me a shout out and we'll have to get together. I think I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands. The job is really great...so great in fact, that they will put Jon though grad school. So with a full-time job and graduate school to boot, I think my future husband is going to spend a lot of time MIA.
I'm so proud of him for getting (and choosing) this job (he had two other offers in hand) , and we really feel like Baltimore is going to be a great place for us!
Next time...adventures in wedding planning!
Can't guess? Oh fine, here's a hint...
And the verdict is....BALTIMORE!!! (If you couldn't tell, that's a map of Maryland...and I'm deeply offended). Jon officially accepted an offer from Lockheed Martin at one of their Baltimore locations. We are super excited to move to the east coast. All the history, old buildings, small states, cool cities near by, road trip potential, cool people, trees, autumn colors, museums, theatre ...I'm pretty sure this is all a dream, and I keep waiting to wake up. Which, if it indeed is the case, is a big problem, because I probably missed a whole lot of school. Anyway, if you are anywhere in the area, give me a shout out and we'll have to get together. I think I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands. The job is really great...so great in fact, that they will put Jon though grad school. So with a full-time job and graduate school to boot, I think my future husband is going to spend a lot of time MIA.
I'm so proud of him for getting (and choosing) this job (he had two other offers in hand) , and we really feel like Baltimore is going to be a great place for us!
Next time...adventures in wedding planning!
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