Fresh Start

I've been keeping things a little hush hush about new things that have been going on with Mahal and I because I was afraid to hear people's criticism and comments about it all. Now that everything is starting to unfold for the better I'm excited to share our "fresh start" moments. Due to certain financial circumstances, we usually buy our cars used through private owners. This is helpful since we never have a car note but of course the unknown about the car is always there. So, we usually end up fixing the cars we buy. I think since my grandparents gave me my first car when JAM was born in 2006 we haven't gone a year without fixing SOMETHING on one of our cars. With JAM's busy schedule and my school schedule, Mahal and I decided to buy a second car in February 2012 because sharing a car amongst the three of us started to become a hassle. We bought it from a local used car dealership this time around, but the car would be bought as is. Go figure not even 2 months later the issues began. We came to find out that there was multiple things that needed to be replaced including a new transmission. Lovely. Because of all the work that needed to be done we decided to baby the car as much as we could until Mahal got his income tax refund to fix the car. We started off the new year by finally fixing my car and we couldn't be happier. We had enough money to  buy a new bed too after sleeping on a 10 year old bed that caused so many back pain these last couple years. Things were slowly falling into place but there were a couple things that were still bothering us: work and school.

My baby, Emerald :)

Mahal is one of the most hardworking and dedicated people I know. Since finding a job locally in 2010, he has given the company 110%. Everyone around him thought that he deserved a raise to become full time, but certain circumstances on corporate's end prevented that from happening. He tried to be understanding since he hasn't been with the company for that long, but it became hard watching other co-workers get promoted when Mahal was putting in more work and effort than they were. Although the financial stability was great to have if he got promoted to full-time, that wasn't the thing we wanted the most. We were more concerned about him getting paid vacation time off. The company he works for is only closed on Sundays so unless his one off day a week is scheduled on a Saturday or unless there was a holiday that fell on a Monday, we would never be able to even take a weekend vacation somewhere because that's one less day Mahal didn't get paid and every paycheck counts nowadays. We haven't gotten the opportunity to visit Chicago since 2009 because of it and it's something we've been wanting to do. There was talk amongst the managers that he might get a promotion this summer, but there's always secret talk about Mahal getting promoted and I know he gets bummed when it never happens. I guess someone finally listened because Mahal just got promoted! I'm so proud of him and so excited because I know that it's something that he's been wanting for awhile. Now let's see if we can finally book this trip to Chicago so we can show JAM his hometown!

As far as my school progress has been going, a lot has changed. For those of you who didn't know, the medical field has always been a field I knew I wanted to work in since I was about 10 years old. I always dreamed about being a cardiothoracic surgeon, but once I graduated from high school I realized how expensive med school was, how long it was going to take, plus I gave birth to JAM. All those factors weren't what I was looking for so I found the next best thing, becoming a nurse practitioner. The first step to achieve that was to become a nurse so since moving to Las Vegas in 2008 that is what I've been pursuing. I was already knocking at the door of the nursing program when I realized that becoming an RN wasn't for me. Along with many other factors, I realized that I liked teaching the material, organizing study groups, creating projects about the material, etc. I honestly wasn't sure what else was out there for me because medicine was always in my face. I did some research and stumbled upon a business degree. It was something I never really explored, but my little sister was always amazed with this field. I looked into the different degrees and there was only ONE school in Las Vegas that offered the degree I was interested in. I set up a college visit and this school is AWESOME. The staff is soooo helpful and you can tell that they'll do whatever it takes to help you succeed in your desired field. They are a private school so the tuition was A LOT more expensive than what I was used to and the school runs a little differently that what I have been accustomed to, but it all looks like a great fit for me. I signed up for classes and just attended the school orientation this past weekend, and I'm so excited to have a fresh start at my new university! I admit, I'm honestly a little scared. I never thought I'd be the college student who'd change their major like a lot of classmates I know, but I'd rather change my major now than continue to do my first pick which I started to dread. My first day of class is a week from today and I can't wait to see where it takes me! You're looking at a student who is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Technical Management with a specialization in Business Information Systems.

Change is always a scary thing, but sometimes it's something that is very necessary. I'm so happy that things are working out for us and that we're staying focused on the path we know we want to take. 2013 is looking so positive so I hope that it continues throughout the rest of the year. I can't wait to see where else this new year is planning on taking us. There's nothing like a fresh start to change the mood of things for the better.

How has your 2013 been going so far?