Since I usually talk about my house, diy projects, baseball, etc., I figure I'd give a little life update. Well I guess those are all my life updates but I'll give you a few different ones for kicks. School wise, I just finished a semester of 18 credits...or hell if you will...and got straight A's! I took 18 credits the last two semesters but have never gotten straight As in college before so I was pretty proud of it. I worked my butt off the last two semesters and while the first one was definitely my hardest and most challenging, the one that just passed was also pretty difficult. One thing I realized was that I am REALLY good at connecting quotes from books/authors that I haven't read. Like really really good. Basically why I passed my classes with flying colors. Just saying.

So that puts me with only ONE more semester until I graduate! 4.5 years of college, not bad! I changed my major 3 times and took a few summers of summer school, so I would say that it pretty darn good. I can argue that I should've graduated this spring (2015) because all next semester is, is student teaching. So I won't even be at UNLV or on campus and will be full time at a school...but we won't go there. That is an argument ALL education majors will have once they reach this point. I'm not really sure if I'm going to start working as a teacher right after I graduate or wait until the next full school year. I guess it'll all depend on if I get the right offer from the right school. I've only heard horror stories when you start halfway through the year so I'm not rushing into anything. And then I will graduate in December if all goes well. My mother-in-law got a free cruise for us during graduation (we're becoming cruise veterans!), so I won't be walking (which was a little upsetting at first, but not totally) because Ryan made a good point: I'll be "walking" on a beach in Honduras, Belize, and somewhere else I can't remember right this second. I can't really be too upset with that. 

Click to read about the question I constantly get...kid related. 

10 Things I've Learned About New Jersey - Week 1

I've decided to narrow this post down to 10 things instead of the million I had to keep the interest of time. Because ain't nobody got time for that! And quite possibly because that's all I had. But we'll go with the latter!

Before I list what I've learned, I must say that I'm not generalizing or making fun of the people of NJ, this is purely from my perspective (and humor) with no intention of offending or stereotyping anyone. 

Ok, now that that is out of the way. This first week has been QUITE interesting. I always try to keep an open mind when visiting new places, although last season in Canada was an entirely mind-blowing experience. I love seeing new places and meeting new people. You wouldn't think that other states could possibly be THAT different, but trust me, every state I've been just reminds me of how naive I am. Ways of life everywhere are different than the good ol' blooming city of Las Vegas.

Also, I apologize for my lack of pictures this post because I'm literally always driving when I remember to take some, or I Snapchat them and forget to save it. I'm a mess, I know.

1. SO MANY COPS! - If you follow me on Snapchat, then you've already seen and heard about this, but there are literally a million cops. I could say that I have seen more cops in this city in one week, than 1 year in Las Vegas. That says something. Every corner, every street, there is a little white (or big white) cop car waiting to get ya! Do they need to meet their quota or something, because this is crazy!

2. EVERYONE (almost) SPEEDS - Ironic? UM HELL YES. If you're asking why in the world people would speed in a place where cops are like Dunkin' Donut shops around here (coincidence? I think not) I couldn't answer that for you. So naturally, I try to go the speed limit, if not, a max of 5 over. Back in Vegas, my dad would call me Danica Patrick. If you don't know who that is, she's a nascar driver - pretty famous and pretty fast. I don't exactly ever go the speed limit back home, well because....I have no reason or excuse. I'm just a faster driver and always have been. But after seeing how many cops sit around here, I made it a priority to NEVER speed. I mean ever. But when I do that, when I drive like a normal person that is, I find myself the "bus" of the trail of cars. By that, I mean that I'm the one everyone is annoyed with because I'm going "so slow". I haven't had anyone honk at me yet, thank goodness, but people sure like to kiss my butt if you know what I mean. I'll leave it at that.

3. EVERY MILE IS BASICALLY A NEW SPEED LIMIT - I am not exaggerating. The "highways" aren't the same as those in Vegas or California, at least not where we are. They are mainly 2 lanes surrounded by the beautiful green stuff they call trees. Those don't exist in Las Vegas so I'm constantly smelling and staring at them. Forgive my weirdness. One minute, you will be going 35mph, the next minute 45, then 40, then 50. It's a constant change. No wonder there are so many cops. You'll pass by 3 speed limit signs before you even realize you are going 20mph over. The struggle is real y'all.

4. ROAD KILL - First, I must say RIP to the deer and opossum. 1 week out, I saw 4 deer, 2 opossums, and 1 squirrel (or small rodent) resting on the side of the road. Incredibly sad. Signs are posted everywhere to watch out, but the truth is that it is inevitable. "Deer are suicidal" as Ryan likes to say, which isn't far from the realization that they will jump out in front of you going 40, 45, and 50 mph. Its a sad sad reality for these little guys, but I get it. They are hungry, they think they are fast enough, and to be frank, they aren't very smart. RIP.

Click through to read the rest of the things I've learned so far!

Week 1: Arrival

I've arrived in Sussex County, New Jersey. Well actually we are staying in Vernon and the team plays near Augusta. There are basically a few different towns we drive through everyday so it gets a little confusing. We are staying at a ski resort, or "mega resort" as they like to call it, and it's pretty awesome. We got our own one bedroom condo style thingy and in the summer months, the resort is a pretty intense mountain biking trail with weekend competitions and such. Living the dream? You could say that. Again, if you haven't read the blog, my husband plays baseball and I am fortunate enough to get to travel with him during the season. And no, I'm not trying to rub it in. We are just so blessed. Typically, players stay with host families or bunk up with other players in apartments (all depends on the city/team) but I do have to say having a wife is a major perk! *wink wink* because we scored with this place! Praise the Lord. 

We are just about 30 minutes from the field, which is a hefty drive when I have to take him to the field and then go back for the game. I have a rule though, because each day is different. 3-4 hours until game time means I can drive home, relax, get ready, etc. Anything under 3 hours I need to hit up the donut shop and surf the web until game time. Some days Ryan needs to be there early, or workout before, in which I'll workout with him or take him to the field and drive back. In other cases, he only needs to be there 2 hours early before the game and then I'll bring my laptop and find a Dunkin' Donuts to hang out at (Starbucks are rare in these parts).

If you follow me on snapchat (minsuepin) you would have seen that its been pretty darn wet and rainy for the time that I've been here. The last 3 games have gotten banged (baseball term for cancelled because of poor weather) so its been movies on top of movies at the condo, which hey, is totally fine with me. On the 30 min drive to the field, its basically forest the whole way, with the occasional ranch, houses, and run down/abandoned barns, or "murder barns" as we like to call them. This city (or collection of towns) are partners with nature. Their words, not mine. This whole state, from what I've observed, is super in-tune with nature and consists of a ton of major trails and hikes. None of which I have been able to do because of the darn rain! But I'm hopeful it'll lighten up soon.

I'm working on a "Things I've Learned My First Week in NJ" post that'll be up within the next few days. It'll describe NJ a little bit better than this post but it's hilarious if I don't say so myself. You'll be surprised how different and IRONIC this place is. I haven't been to NYC yet, but that's on my list the next coming off day.

Stay tuned! Happy hump day and happy baseball!