Girly & Boy

Julia Roberts and Daniel Anderson

Ok, at Dan's suggestion, we're going to give the world of blogging a try. He takes the photos, I write. In theory, anyway! =) We'll try to post periodically about our lives and what we're up to. 

First thing's first...we got a kitty! On December 29th we welcomed a playful young Manx into our home. We named him after the town I grew up in where

 we both spent this past summer and fell even further in love. Juneau is a total doll but he's had a rough start so far. The poor guy was locked into a garage at his first home and still suffers from claustrophobia. On top of that, the little guy came into our lives with ringworm, a cold and fleas! He wasn't getting any better with the meds that the cattery gave us so we took him to the vet yesterday and he's on new stuff that should help. Oh, and we found out he's over a year old. We'd thought he was about 6 months so now we have a huge bag of kitten food just hanging out. Oops. 

Juneau had a few rough nights when he got home too. During the day he was the sweetest thing ever but at night he'd yowl at the top of his lungs and wander the house checking every nook and cranny for the other cats. Unfortunately, he's deaf and subsequently has a very loud, very odd cry. Let's just say the first week we had him, I didn't sleep much but still worked overtime and was ready to start sleeping in the car if I needed to! He's been great since then and it's amazing to get some shut eye now. 

Juneau is definitely a Manx to the fullest though. He will follow us into every room, is fiercely loyal, and actually likes water. We're having a bit of a hard time training him: he's deaf so yelling at him doesn't work; he doesn't mind the spray bottle; he's stubborn and independent so if you just move him, he'll just hop right back into doing what he shouldn't have been doing in the first place; and if you give him a little whack on the nose he'll just whack you back. We're loving it though and are VERY happy with our new kitty. We definitely got the right cat for us!

Dan just started his second term for UO's Masters of Educational Leadership program. Apparently his new Stats professor is quite the character! While Dan's looking forward to the term, it pales in comparison to his excitement over his new MacBook that should be coming tomorrow. =)

We also got some potentially great news just two days ago - Dan should be able to graduate this summer or fall quarter! That's much sooner than we originally expected. Now we're just trying to figure out if we'll be staying in Eugene or if we'll be heading back to Utah. Both have their pros and cons. 

Eugene - we love it here but the chances of Dan getting a teaching job are slim. Plus, the economy sucks here and my credits didn't transfer over as well as I'd expected. 

SLC - Dan could easily get a teaching job there, tuition is lower, money would be better, and I could finish my degree in less time. 

Dan will be meeting with his advisor in about three weeks to see about when he'll matriculate. In the meantime, I registered for a few online classes with USU. Yay! I'll still be working full time but now I'll be getting a little closer to my degree while we figure out where we'll end up. I just hope I get enough sleep!

As far as my job goes, I quit my job at Chevron in December and made those days available to the restaurant. It's paid off! Last month I earned the highest tip percentage in the entire restaurant and since coming back from our Christmas vacation with Dan's family I've been working more (and better) shifts and my income has at LEAST doubled. I just hope it keeps up like this!