So, I realized today that I've gotten to the point where my posts are almost 2 weeks apart. Bad Whitney. I was really on a roll there for a while with my weekly posts. I'll try to get better. This post is a bit long, so get comfortable.
School updates:
Classes are done. Exit survey complete. Technically I can now put the letters MPH after my name. Graduation is Thursday. Bring it!
Wedding updates:
Expenses are still a bit of an issue for me. I had my first major wedding "episode" last weekend because of money. I think I feel more stressed about them because I will likely be unemployed for a while. But really, I'm super excited for this wedding! We have been extremely fortunate with the amount of help we've received and I'm thankful that Jason and I have (or at least had for me) jobs that pay well enough that we can have a beautiful wedding. We've decided to hire a DJ and I'm in the process of developing the playlist now. I have another dress fitting on Thursday and my mom and I will also be looking at flowers. After that, pretty much the only thing left to tackle is the invitations. The closet in the spare bedroom of our apartment has become wedding central. Seriously, we can't even walk in the closet anymore because we're storing so much in there.
So, I feel like now is the time to bring up something I've been hesitant to talk about much on this blog: wedding weight loss. Back in October, I was put on a new medicine for my migraines which works fantastically. Unfortunately, while my head likes this new medicine, my body does not. The first month I was on the medicine I gained about 15 pounds. That was pretty scary. When I talked to my doctor about it, he basically told me that I either have to a) alter my eating and exercise habits to compensate or b) get off the medicine. Anyone who has migraines knows that b was not an option. After the holidays and my engagement, Operation Fit into The Dress was established. All the weight I had gained was in my belly area. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not really an exerciser. Everyday, I do 60 crunches, 20 sit ups, 40 cross crunches and 20 reverse crunches. I also walk the dogs for at least 15 minutes a day and Jason and I try to go on a bike ride at least once a week. Not much in the workout department; call me lazy or whatever, but it's just much easier to control what I eat. So I have. hardcore. Since Christmas, I have not had any soda or fast food, and I only eat sweets on special occasions.
I guess it's working. I've lost 17 pounds since January, and my dress zips up without a struggle. 3 more pounds until I reach my wedding weight goal. I joke with Jason that I'm going to get fat after the wedding. :-)
90 days to go!
Life updates:
Well, still no job prospects. I've reached the 100 mark with applications. Yikes. Despite that, I feel like there are so many positive changes in my life right now. I have a master's degree. I'm getting married to a wonderful man. And Jason and I started looking at houses. Yes, houses! Jason's been making some calls lately and he found out late last week that even if I'm not working, we can afford a mortgage that's approximately what we currently pay for rent. Since Jason's mom is a realtor, she's been helping us a lot. She took us out yesterday to look at some houses and we found one that I totally fell in love with. It's a HUD home, which basically means that it was forclosed on. It's a 2005 nice little 3/2.. basically a perfect starter home. No damage beyond general wear and tear. It was well within our price range, so Jason decided to go ahead and bid on it. We should find out in about a week if we got the house or not. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high because there's no way we're the only bidders, but at the same time, I loved that house! Please think positive things for us. I feel so fortunate that I'm marrying a man who has managed his money so well. He's making all of my dreams come true! For now, I'm going to continue to focus on the positive things. It's a much better use of my time.
Enough boring you for now. Adios!
-Whitney Hammer, MPH (just because I can!)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
no longer the road to a thesis
I am a terrible blogger.
But really, there's not much to blog about these days.
School updates:
Last Friday was my thesis presentation and it went surprisingly well. I am glad that it's over and done with completely. Graduation is in two weeks and I have a week and a half of classes left. I have mostly been spending my time grading the massive amount of assignments that are due this week and next in the class I TA. I can't believe how quickly these past two years have flown by. It amazes me to think that I've spent the past 6 years in higher education. I've met some of the most amazing people and had some wonderful experiences. I can only hope that the next chapter of my life in the "real world" is equally as fulfilling.
Wedding updates:
Not much is new since last time. We have our food tasting coming up on Friday (yum!) and my second dress fitting is Saturday. I'm excited to put on my dress again. I feel all giddy when I wear it. We also got our guest favors in the mail earlier this week. I am looking forward to you all seeing them! For now I will keep them a secret :-)
102 days to go!
Life updates:
My advisor was able to pull some strings to keep me employed through the end of May. I still have no prospects after that. I've applied for close to 90 jobs now and have yet to have one single interview. It is really hard not to be despondent and depressed about it. If it weren't for the wedding coming up and my impending marriage, I'd feel like my life had no direction at all.
I'm really trying to stay positive but it gets harder with each day that passes without word. I think about all the things I want to do and how very few of them seem achievable if I'm not working in some capacity. My loans are my biggest concern. Come November I've got to start paying on them. Can't very well make payments without an income.
We're kind of on the fence about where we'll be living after July. Our lease is up 2 weeks before the wedding and we can't seem to come to a conclusive decision as to what we want to do. On one hand, we'd love to have a house and a yard and a place to call our own, plus it's a buyers market, but on the other, with only one income as a possibility, owning a home may not be financially feasible. I keep thinking that maybe I should just stay in school. Then I remind myself how difficult and stressful graduate school has been. Could I really do that again for 3 more years (at least)? Yikes.
Please don't get me wrong, I love my life and I know how incredibly fortunate I am to have the things I have. I guess I just need to keep reminding myself of that fact.
Hope I didn't leave this on too depressing of a note.
Until we meet again,
Whitney
But really, there's not much to blog about these days.
School updates:
Last Friday was my thesis presentation and it went surprisingly well. I am glad that it's over and done with completely. Graduation is in two weeks and I have a week and a half of classes left. I have mostly been spending my time grading the massive amount of assignments that are due this week and next in the class I TA. I can't believe how quickly these past two years have flown by. It amazes me to think that I've spent the past 6 years in higher education. I've met some of the most amazing people and had some wonderful experiences. I can only hope that the next chapter of my life in the "real world" is equally as fulfilling.
Wedding updates:
Not much is new since last time. We have our food tasting coming up on Friday (yum!) and my second dress fitting is Saturday. I'm excited to put on my dress again. I feel all giddy when I wear it. We also got our guest favors in the mail earlier this week. I am looking forward to you all seeing them! For now I will keep them a secret :-)
102 days to go!
Life updates:
My advisor was able to pull some strings to keep me employed through the end of May. I still have no prospects after that. I've applied for close to 90 jobs now and have yet to have one single interview. It is really hard not to be despondent and depressed about it. If it weren't for the wedding coming up and my impending marriage, I'd feel like my life had no direction at all.
I'm really trying to stay positive but it gets harder with each day that passes without word. I think about all the things I want to do and how very few of them seem achievable if I'm not working in some capacity. My loans are my biggest concern. Come November I've got to start paying on them. Can't very well make payments without an income.
We're kind of on the fence about where we'll be living after July. Our lease is up 2 weeks before the wedding and we can't seem to come to a conclusive decision as to what we want to do. On one hand, we'd love to have a house and a yard and a place to call our own, plus it's a buyers market, but on the other, with only one income as a possibility, owning a home may not be financially feasible. I keep thinking that maybe I should just stay in school. Then I remind myself how difficult and stressful graduate school has been. Could I really do that again for 3 more years (at least)? Yikes.
Please don't get me wrong, I love my life and I know how incredibly fortunate I am to have the things I have. I guess I just need to keep reminding myself of that fact.
Hope I didn't leave this on too depressing of a note.
Until we meet again,
Whitney
Thursday, April 5, 2012
I have run out of clever titles.
Bonjour to my loyal readers,
Hopefully I have not kept you waiting too long since my last posting. There is still not much going on to report, but I'll do my very best.
School updates:
Not only is my thesis done, it's also submitted. All I have to do now is present/defend my findings next Friday. Pretty exciting, and I can definitely now breathe a huge sigh of relief! It's weird to think that in less than a month I'll no longer be able to provide school updates. While I was somewhat hopeful about finding a job here at school after my graduation, it doesn't look like that's going to be possible now. Most public health work is based on grant money, and if there's no money coming in, none can go out either. Bummer.
Wedding updates:
We've got a big weekend coming up in wedding land. Tomorrow is (finally) my first dress fitting. It will also be the first time I've put the dress on in almost two months. Guess it's time to find out if my weight loss plan is working. Saturday is our cake testing! Jason is pretty stoked about this. He doesn't care at all what the cake looks like, but rather what it tastes like. Fear not, I'll be there to make sure it's pretty too. We've ordered our guest favors (which I'll keep a secret for now ;-) ), and mostly just have a few little things left to get. Jason got fitted for his tux last weekend, so that's out of the way too. My wedding boots came in on Monday (thanks to Mrs. Fry for the inspiration!) and they are adorable. I feel pretty proud of how far I've come with all this wedding planning. I guess it's the organizer in me.
Life updates:
Still no luck on the job front. My advisor has agreed to keep me employed at the school through the end of May, but none of the other 75 jobs I've now applied for have panned out thus far. Is it really this hard for people to find a job after graduating with a master's? It's got me quite despondent these days. I try to keep positive by thinking about the wedding, but then I remember that I need money to pay for that. Which I won't be earning if I'm not working. I know that all of my sappiness is worrying Jason and I don't want to, but it really is upsetting me. I can't even be proud of my school work because I feel like it hasn't done anything for me.
On a more positive note, I've tried to make it a point of becoming a better cook before the wedding. I still mess up sometimes, but I've added a lot of recipes to our book thanks mostly to Pinterest. I try to keep things diverse in the kitchen so that we're not always eating the same 12 things. I shall continue this quest even post-wedding!
I suppose that's it for now.
Adios until next time,
Whitney
Hopefully I have not kept you waiting too long since my last posting. There is still not much going on to report, but I'll do my very best.
School updates:
Not only is my thesis done, it's also submitted. All I have to do now is present/defend my findings next Friday. Pretty exciting, and I can definitely now breathe a huge sigh of relief! It's weird to think that in less than a month I'll no longer be able to provide school updates. While I was somewhat hopeful about finding a job here at school after my graduation, it doesn't look like that's going to be possible now. Most public health work is based on grant money, and if there's no money coming in, none can go out either. Bummer.
Wedding updates:
We've got a big weekend coming up in wedding land. Tomorrow is (finally) my first dress fitting. It will also be the first time I've put the dress on in almost two months. Guess it's time to find out if my weight loss plan is working. Saturday is our cake testing! Jason is pretty stoked about this. He doesn't care at all what the cake looks like, but rather what it tastes like. Fear not, I'll be there to make sure it's pretty too. We've ordered our guest favors (which I'll keep a secret for now ;-) ), and mostly just have a few little things left to get. Jason got fitted for his tux last weekend, so that's out of the way too. My wedding boots came in on Monday (thanks to Mrs. Fry for the inspiration!) and they are adorable. I feel pretty proud of how far I've come with all this wedding planning. I guess it's the organizer in me.
Life updates:
Still no luck on the job front. My advisor has agreed to keep me employed at the school through the end of May, but none of the other 75 jobs I've now applied for have panned out thus far. Is it really this hard for people to find a job after graduating with a master's? It's got me quite despondent these days. I try to keep positive by thinking about the wedding, but then I remember that I need money to pay for that. Which I won't be earning if I'm not working. I know that all of my sappiness is worrying Jason and I don't want to, but it really is upsetting me. I can't even be proud of my school work because I feel like it hasn't done anything for me.
On a more positive note, I've tried to make it a point of becoming a better cook before the wedding. I still mess up sometimes, but I've added a lot of recipes to our book thanks mostly to Pinterest. I try to keep things diverse in the kitchen so that we're not always eating the same 12 things. I shall continue this quest even post-wedding!
I suppose that's it for now.
Adios until next time,
Whitney
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