Post-Grad

I really am terrible at blogging. And that's all I have to say about that.

It's still a little surreal that Saturday makes three weeks since I graduated from App State. Right now I mostly just feel like I'm on summer break. Since graduating high school, I've never taken a full summer break. The most I've ever had at a time was three weeks. So working all summer is nothing new. The crazy part is planning for the fall, knowing I'll still be at work full time.

Adjusting to a full time job hasn't been too hard. Last summer I worked 6 days a week leading trail rides for 3 months, so working 5 days a week is not a big deal. The struggle for me is packing lunches. Most of the last four years I've been able to make lunch at home, so the possibilities are endless. Now, I need to come up with healthy lunches that are easy to prepare and take to work. Definitely a learning curve! But I've found some great recipes and ideas that I cannot wait to try!

I'm officially three weeks into living in my new apartment this weekend as well. I am loving the country life, even with the micey intruders and birds trying to get it. It's so peaceful at night, and during the day for that matter! My front porch is also ideal for hammocking. The biggest change is paying my rent. The last three years of my life, I've used student loans to pay rent. I went to App for free from my sophomore year on, so taking loans to pay rent was not a big deal, and it made sense. I was in school to learn, not to spend all my time working to afford a place so I could go to school. My last paycheck wasn't for a full two weeks of full time work, and it was JUST enough to cover my rent for the month. Thank goodness for graduation money! That made things this last week much easier.

I'm excited to see how my paychecks will really look once I have a full two weeks on them. This may sound silly, but I am so excited about sitting down with my BFFs Excel and "Total Money Make-Over" and reworking my budget! Now that I have a predictable income, I think things will be a bit easier. I am ready to really pick up some momentum in saving my emergency fund as well as paying down my student debt! My boss has even mentioned the possibility of bonuses if we have a super busy summer - that would go a long way to helping pay down those debts!

One of the best things about my post grad life is no homework! I LOVE to read. I could spend all day reading a good book. It has been so great to be able to read for fun and not feel guilty for neglecting school work! I also love that after work, I can borrow our guard dog Knox and go to the park for an hour, or eat dinner with a friend, or go to Boone for the evening, and not be ignoring something important. The BEST part is that I acutally have a weekend! For the last year, when I wasn't at school, I was at work or doing homework. Even on Sundays, I worked in the morning at 8am until time to leave for church. I now have Sunday and Monday all to myself, aside from being blessed to be able to volunteer at Elevation Boone. Life is good :)

Hopefully I really can actually pick blogging up for once. Perhaps I can come up with themes for a few days of the week? If I had direction, I know I could do it!