Life after graduation

So just to bring us up to date: After I graduated from UGA, I have had a VERY difficult time finding a job. I have been on 8 different interviews (all of which have led to nothing) & have applied to COUNTLESS other positions - many of which aren't even in my field. So here is how my summer started...

Will totals my car.

Will hit deer #2 while heading from Gainesville to Athens going 60 mph - didn't even have time to hit the brakes.

But I didn't let that keep me down. I spent a good bit of the summer traveling...

Trip #1: Omaha

My older brother, Matt, got home from Qatar & was nice enough to fly me out to Omaha to visit him at the end of June. This was definitely an adventure seeing as though I had to fly from Atlanta to Houston, Houston to Denver, Denver to Omaha - BY MYSELF!!! This was something I had never done before, but I did it!!! Didn't even miss a flight! On the way home I flew Omaha to Chicago, Chicago to Atlanta. Whew!

One of the many Rock Band nights we had...this was followed by a karaoke session. Big brother loves to Rock & Roll (& party everyday...well that's what we did while I was up there.)

Eating lunch downtown on my last day in Omaha. Finally had an Omaha steak!

Trip #2: Litchfield Beach, South Carolina

As soon as I got back from Omaha, we left for the beach the next weekend for the 4th of July. We went with Erin & Daniel & two of their friends & were able to stay at Oma & PaBear's condo! Such a fun trip!

Trip #3: Savannah

For our two-year anniversary, we went to Savannah!!! This was us at 700 Drayton at the Mansion by Forsyth Park. Such a cool restaurant!!!



We also went on a river boat lunch cruise on the Savannah River. It was so neat to learn about Savannah from the river!



This was when we went on a horse & carriage tour of downtown Savannah. This was also a great way to learn about the city & see all the cool places in Savannah.



This was at dinner at Vic's on the River. Also, such a cool restaurant overlooking River Street & the Savannah River!



Before we headed back to Athens, we stopped over at Tybee Island.

The day after we got back from our wonderful little anniversary weekend get-a-way, we finally bought me a car! We looked for TWO MONTHS!!! (Not that I have really needed one this summer...not having a job & all...& being out of town so much!) This was not as fun & as exciting as I had always thought it would be! We finally decided on a 2006 Mercury Milan Premier. She is so beautiful - black on black leather with a MOON ROOF! (It's the closest thing to a convertible I'm gonna get right now.) I named her Millie. Millie the Milan! =)



This summer we also went to a Braves game with some friends. Will was randomly picked out of the stands to participate in a Stolen Base Challenge on the field in between innings. He had to run from right field to 2nd base, pick up the base, & head back to where he started in just 20 seconds. He missed it by just 2 seconds!!!

For Will's 24th birthday I threw him a Braves Birthday Bash. A bunch of friends came over to cook out & watch the Braves game. Here is Will blowing out the candles on his Braves cake! =)



I went all out - Braves balloons, Braves plates & napkins, & baseball snacks. Will loved it!



The Churchills & Alan with the birthday boy. Will is wearing the t-shirt he won at the Braves game.



We played baseball outside after the game. Team Williams won!

So needless to say, I have definitely enjoyed having some time off this summer. Ever since I graduated from high school, my summers have been consumed with school. I really enjoyed traveling and spending time with friends - something I didn't get to do very often because of school. I'm definitely ready to get into a job & start making some money, though. I have patiently been waiting for God's direction. Though His timing is taking longer than I would like, I know He has a plan.

Our little darlins!

It all began with little Tini...

So I had been wanting to get a puppy for my 21st birthday. I went to the Lumpkin County Animal Shelter with some college friends after class one day. Cookie, a little corgi mix, had just had a litter of 7 puppies...they were little bitty babies! I immediately fell in love with this little girl! She had the same markings as her sweet little mommy...it looked like she had a little saddle on her back. The hard part was to talk Will into letting me keep her (well, it didn't end up being very hard after all!) After I already put my name & contact info down to claim her, I took Will back "just to look". He immediately fell in love with her just as I had. When he picked her up for the first time she started sucking his little pinky finger. He was hooked. It was a done deal! =) I named her Martini (but we call her Tini) because she was my 21st birthday present.

But then I saw Missy...

Well I was so excited to be getting a little puppy, but I couldn't take her home yet because she was still too young to leave her mommy. So, just for fun, we looked throughout the rest of the shelter. When we went out back, I fell in love again! There was this adorable little two-year old dachshund/dalmatian mix (at least that is what the pound said she was). My very first dog, when I was about 3 was a dalmatian! He was so beautiful! We didn't keep him for very long though because he was deaf and was SO much work! He was also a little too playful for young children. So my parents gave him away to a family who had a young, deaf son. They lived on a farm & he was a perfect fit for them! My second dog was a little dachshund. We got her when I was 5 & she was my little baby! She lived to be about 13 years old! Naturally, when I saw little Missy - the perfect mix between my two childhood dogs - I just had to have her! Will wasn't too keen on getting TWO dogs, but the shelter had a foster program. You could foster a dog for 30 days, free of charge. I told Will we could take care of her until we were able to take Tini home! Will agreed to this just because he felt so sorry for her - her mother (some old lady) had her for two years but brought her back to the pound because she said she was "too active". Poor thing! So we decided to care for her for 30 days until we could get our puppy. Well...obviously we couldn't take her back (especially after that mean old lady took her back!) So needless to say, we now have two little girls!

And how they absolutely adore each other! They are BEST friends. They can't stand to be without each other...just not the same when they are separated! And they love us just as much!

Casa de Williams

For those of you who have not graced our home with your presence, here's what you're missing. Ok, so the pictures are a little out of date. We took these when we first got settled in...things don't quite look the same anymore.

The front...

Our adorable little kitchen - in brown & teal. I LOVE the panneling & the crown molding. However, my favorite part is the distressed cabinets (not the best picture).

Our little dining room...

Our living room - looking pretty bare. We've added a bunch in two years.
I love the wooden vaulted ceilings!!! (I DON'T love Will's giant TV!)

Missy & Tini's stomping ground...

Our guest bedroom/office. I love this room - big, beautiful bay window over looking the pool (makes great people watching). Also our antique partner desk which was our wedding gift to each other.

Little guest bathroom...

Little master bathroom (but Will just refinished our vanity).

Master bedroom...nothing is the same in here anymore. New bedding, new wall color, new curtains.

Different wall art & accessories, also (my taste changes quickly)

So...to catch up

These past two years have FLOWN by! Being in graduate school really consumed my life...I'm sure that's why it seems like a blur. So here's what's been going on since the day we said "I do"...

We went to Asheville, North Carolina for our honeymoon. Talk about the most relaxing, low key vacation of my life. It was perfect bliss! I had just finished up my undergraduate degree at North Georgia, an internship at Coca-Cola, preparing for graduate school at Georgia, ONTOP of planning my wedding. It was so wonderful to venture up into the mountains with my new husband. We stayed at the most adorable bed & breakfast I have ever seen & had the entire honeymoon cottage to ourselves. We toured the Biltmore House (which we had been wanting to do for awhile), hiked to the waterfall on the estate, & did the wine tasting there. We had romantic dinners every night, shopped downtown, went antiquing (another one of our favorite things to do), watched movies, & were just completely wrapped up in each other for four days straight. Not to mention...completely relaxing from all of the exhausting (but fun) wedding festivities. I CANNOT wait to go back...

The day after we got back from our honeymoon, I walked in my graduation ceremony at North Georgia College. Somehow, I managed to get my degree in three years & graduate Magna Cum Laude. (My new hubby was proud.)

The same day I graduated, we bought our very first home! A two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in Athens. (This is where we're still living.)

A fun "first" for us (well for me, actually) was going skiing at Beech Mountain, North Carolina in February 2008. We went with Will's work (Caldwell Electrical Contractors). Will was already a pro at skiing, but this was the very first time I had ever been. I picked it up after the first day.
This was also my first time ice skating! Surprisingly, this was harder for me than skiing was...again, Will was a pro (what else is new?)

On May 17, 2008, Will's sister, Erin, married her long time boyfriend, Daniel.

Erin with all her Bridesmaids...

Erin & Daniel got married at the Train Depot in Gainesville, Georgia.

Beautiful weather - Beautiful wedding!!!
This was our one-year anniversary. We spent one night at Lake Lanier Islands Resort. This is the same place we stayed on our wedding night!
We had a picnic dinner in our room - just the two of us. We had our same napkins, center piece, and toasting flutes as we did on our wedding day. Erin even made us a mini replica of our wedding cake!

March 1, 2009

This was our first snow in Athens! We both had the day off from school & work. We stayed home, played outside with our little doggies, and drank hot chocolate.

This is Missy and me playing in the backyard!

In April, we took our first big trip (since the honeymoon) to Washington, D.C. Our high school friend, Andy, lives & works up there at the Capitol. This is Andy & Will at the Capitol...Andy gave us a V.I.P. tour! =)

I used to visit Washington, D.C. every summer when I was younger with my family. I had already seen most of the cool things here, but Will had never been. Here I am in front of the Jefferson Memorial.

In front of the White House! This is somewhere I had never been before...a first for us both.

My cousin, Tom, was up in D.C. on business & we were able to meet up with him & my uncle to visit the Air & Space Museum.

This is when we drove up to Baltimore to watch the Orioles play. Andy had tickets on the 2nd row...we couldn't resist! We also made it to the Nationals Stadium...they were actually playing the Braves while we were up there! (The Braves won!)

Finally!!!!!! I finished my Master's degree! This was probably the biggest accomplishment of my life! I definitely celebrated...

Celebration Round 1:

Some close friends & I went out to Wild Wings in Gainesville the day of my graduation. Definitely blew off some steam from my final finals!!!

Celebration Round 2:
Will & I went to dinner at the Sun Dial (our most favorite restaurant!) compliments of daddy dearest! He was very proud of me, too! =)

Celebration Round 3:

Will rented a two-story house boat for my grand finale graduation party. We had BBQ & cookie cake to celebrate with some of my closest friends....good times!