Laboring on Labor Day

Today I went to work and Tracy went to school just like any other Monday, but it isn't another Monday. It's Labor Day.

I'm confused. Aren't we supposed to have Labor Day off? Isn't it a national holiday? I found out that Labor Day was created to celebrate "the social and economic achievements of American workers" (United States Department of Labor) and give the working man (or woman) one day's rest he (or she) rightfully has earned. Even though I've worked at my new job for only one week, I worked well over forty hours (actually closer to fifty hours) doing rather frustrating tasks with people not too eager to help out. Why does Texas hate the common worker?

I'm happy I have a job--don't get me wrong--but getting a day off is always nice.

I got another job at the Texas A&M Writing Center, and coordinating two schedules is way more difficult than I thought it would be. But again, I'm grateful for my jobs, and I will work hard. Too bad I don't have a holiday to celebrate my labor!

New Job, New Possibilities

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a long time. I've been waiting until I had something to post. Although I have been working on our apartment pretty much every day, there's only so much you can do without spending money, which we are avoiding right now until I get a job.

I've searched high and low, applied for any and all kinds of jobs, had to take the SAT to be considered for a job (but that job didn't work out), and almost given up hope that I would one. But, thank goodness, I got one. I'm working for the Texas A&M Bookstore. I'm excited. It should be fun. And a few other probably possibilities have shown up as well, so I could have two jobs. Plus, I'm pretty sure that even if I find one or two other jobs that have me work forty hours a week I can still work at games and special events for the bookstore. (My co-workers, 99.9 percent of them students, don't want to work during the football games, so I get to.) So this is great!! Yay!!

Because I have had relatively no work for the past six months (should I consider tutoring at the WSU Writing Center for four hours a week work?), I'm ready to work, work, work!!

I'll update the job situation when I know more myself.

Warm Texas Welcome

Whew! Moves are hard, but we've had a lot of wonderful help. We're moved in, unpacking, actually putting stuff on the walls, and starting to feel a little more at home. But even before we set foot in our apartment, I noticed: We're definitely not in the West anymore, Toto!!

If any of you doubted or wondered, Texas really is different from anywhere else in the country.

1. The stop lights are not vertical like the rest of the country--you know, red on top, yellow in the middle, and green on the bottom. They're horizontal--red on the left, yellow in the middle, and green on the right. WEIRD!!! Well, I was weirded out. They are horizontal because they are more stable on the poles against hurricane-force winds.

2. Although the scenery on the highway was pretty boring (mostly bushes and dead grass), there were a few interesting roadside gems. Tracy saw armadillo roadkill, which I wish he had pointed out to me! There were several stretches where oil rigs were just by the highway. You'd think in this land of oil plenty, gas would be cheaper than $2.50 per gallon!! But oh well.

3. Native Texans are really friendly, want to know your whole life's story, and will tell you theirs. On our first day in College Station, Tracy and I went to Denny's, and our waitress called me "hun" and "dear" probably about ten times. She told us stories about other customers she's had and about table manners (no one should start eating without everyone's food present--which we already do anyway).
Tracy's professor bought a used truck down here for his son, and after the car was checked out by an old mechanic, we went with his wife to pick up the truck. Just during the phone call, the mechanic covered topics ranging from restaurants in town to movies to the house he grew up in to what church they would attend.
One of the guys who helped us move in offered his old (being not exactly new but not yucky or ugly) couch to us. Yay for having a couch!!

4. Even the traffic signs are friendly. On the highways we'd see signs that would say, "Please help prevent forest fires," "Drive friendly," and "Maintain your vehicle." Such polite reminders! But my favorite sign was this one.


5. And this sign leads us perfectly to the next thing that makes Texas different--state pride. We stayed at Fort Stockton our first day of driving, and they had waffles on the breakfast table. I like waffles, but these are a little silly.


And state pride is huge here!! The guy who installed our internet talked about Texas football with Tracy for fifteen minutes and probably would have stayed longer if he didn't have other appointments.

While I hope I don't adopt all the Texas quarks, some aren't that bad. The last new fact about Texas is that we live in Brazos County. Brazos is Spanish for "arms"--for those who struggle remembering high school Spanish. So, Texas has received us with open arms, and we are grateful for our safety and for all those who have helped us move at all stages.

Yee-ha!!! Texas, Here We Come!!!

After months of "moving," we are finally getting to Texas on Friday! I don't know about Tracy, but I am having so many emotions right now: excitement, relief, anxiety, a little apprehension, a little homesickness (for my family--already), and hope.

Excitement--Tracy will be going to a school that focuses on sedimentary geology--Tracy's focus--and prepares most students for jobs with oil companies. We know the Lord has had a hand in our lives to provide this opportunity. It will be interesting to see how school goes for Tracy and, when he's done with school, whether he'll be able to get a job in Texas.

Relief--For the past two months, I haven't known what my next apartment will look like. Although I have had fun planning for several new decorations and home projects (thanks Mom and Karen), I will be so happy to get into my new home and actually carry out those plans.

Anxiety and apprehension--While College Station is a much bigger city than Pullman and surely will be a little easier to adapt to, I am still nervous about finding an editing job. And I had such high hopes for Pullman, which were pretty crushed when we got there, that I can't let myself get too carried away in hoping and imagining what our life will be like in CS.

Homesickness--I have always been attached to my family. I never looked forward to getting away from my family in high school, and I cried when I went to college. I cried when I didn't spend my first Christmas with them, and I call home at least every week, if not way more often. So after spending two months with my family, I find it hard to say good-bye to them, even though we are coming back for Christmas. This move is a good, needed part of our lives, but getting what we want is sometimes complicated.

Hope--We have hope that things will work out for us. The Lord has provided so much for us in our lives, and we know that as we try our best and do what we are supposed to do, He will help us. We have many hopes about our future that we will work hard to accomplish.

We are ready for the ride!! Bring it on, Texas! Yee-ha!!!

Two Years of Marriage: The Beginning of a Masterpiece

Today is our second wedding anniversary. Looking back at our marriage so far, Tracy and I seem to sigh, look at each other with exhausted expressions as if to say "whew," and then smile and laugh.

We've been through and done a lot these two years. We've moved twice, lived in three states (four including Arizona for two months), finished school (me), started grad school (Tracy), started new jobs, finished old jobs, dealt with physical problems (my surgery), dealt with financial problems, had a death in the family (Tracy's aunt), and had two new nieces born (one on both sides). I won't lie--we've had hard trials, frustrating arguments, tough decisions, and physically and emotionally painful moments. But we've also had meaningful discussions, sweet reconciliation, sincere expressions of love and kindness, increased closeness, and priceless laughter.

I had an professor at BYU who told me that marriage isn't work; it's art. At first, I just thought that was her marriage. Her husband taught psychology. He knew how women worked more than most men. But I realize what she meant by that now. When an artist creates a piece, he or she spends hours and hours on it, using carefully calculated techniques, paints, and strokes. It is, in a way, work, but the artist doesn't see it as work. The artist keeps in mind the beauty of the end result. He or she uses the goal to guide what strokes, colors, and brushes to use during the process. So while the artist is working to create his or her piece, it isn't work in that the beauty of the piece compensates for the work put into it. I think marriage is beautiful only when we have put time and effort into making it as such. So it technically is work. But we need not see it as tedious or annoying.

Having been married only two years, I can see that our artwork's canvas still has a lot of space and potential left. (The above painting isn't ours, even though it is pretty darn cute.) We're trying to keep the goal in mind, but we're enjoying the little moments along the journey. We love each other and are grateful to everyone who has helped us long our way so far. We are also grateful to the Lord who has blessed our marriage and has helped us through those hard times, so we can get back to those precious happy moments.

Well, Tracy, two years down . . . and eternity to go!!

The Silver Lining to a Very Dark Cloud

Just in case my handful of devoted readers, who mostly were around me when everything was happening, are concerned about my neglected blog, the biggest reason I have not posted anything in so long is that I have been in the hospital.

On June 25 in the year of our Lord 2009, I, Lacey Kupfer Wulf, experienced the worst pain of my life from a ruptured appendix and underwent immediate surgery. Because of extra harmful fluids in my abdomen, fevers, and other complications, I stayed in the hospital for the longest twelve days of my life. For at least six of those days, I was on a strict clear liquid diet of jello, broth, and juice. I was poked with needles daily, woken up at all hours of the night, almost accidentally operated on unnecessarily, and blown up like a balloon with IV fluids. To drain these harmful fluids, the doctor put a tube through my bum, which was soar and uncomfortable, not to mention embarrassing. Perhaps the hardest to bear, because we are in the process of moving, we have no insurance--no guarantee that we will be able to pay the hospital for almost two weeks worth of care.

Although the last two weeks have been horrible, frightening, and discouraging, in reality I have gained so much. This dark rain cloud does have a bright silver lining.
1. I have a year supply of free juice boxes, free bandages, and new thermometers from my hospital room. Yay for $FREE.99!!
2. After I gained ten pounds from IV fluids and after they took me off the IV, I lost fifteen pounds. I'm pretty sure my total weight loss will be more than five pounds though.
3. For almost two weeks, my family got to enjoy cable television, a luxury they do not have at home. TLC's new show Cake Boss is pretty good when you have nothing to do--for all of you with cable and a lot of time.
4. Because of all the poking, I am almost over my fear of needles. (Keyword: ALMOST) I probably could start donating blood now because of it.
5. I have always been a modest person. I would change in the bathroom for PE in school, and I hated bra shopping because my mom would see me without a shirt on. But now after having nurses and doctors ask me about my bowel movements and see me practically naked almost daily and needing my mom to help me shower, I think I'm basically over any embarrassment of exposure.
6. I appreciate my health so much more. I can walk, bend over, get up out of bed, eat normal foods, shower myself (sponge baths aren't that bad, but it's better to do it myself and thanks again, mom!), stand up to brush my teeth, brush my own hair, and do so many other little tasks that were so hard while I was sick. I appreciate my body and its intricacies, even though that's what got me in this mess in the first place.
7. I got to spend more time with my family. Tracy left to find housing in Texas, and although I have missed him a lot, I have my parents and siblings around to visit me. I thank God that this happened to me in Arizona with my family instead of Texas or Washington or Utah or wherever. I truly believe the Lord knew I wouldn't have been able to make it emotionally, especially with Tracy gone, if I didn't have them.
8. I've learned to have patience with myself and the Lord. There were days when I thought I would never get out of the hospital and I would never stop hurting. I was so frustrated that something always hurt, whether it was my stomach or my side. I wanted to go home. I wanted to stop hurting. I wanted to go back to being me. My body is still healing, and I still feel a little frustration with myself, but I know I will get there steadily.

As ashamed as I am to admit this, I remember wondering why I even had my dad and Tracy give me several priesthood blessings--they weren't working in my eyes. I wanted the instant healing. I wanted the pain to stop. I wanted to be home. But I know now that I needed to be there to learn and gain these things (obviously the last few more than the first). I know the Lord puts us in hard situations for our benefit to learn and grow. I hate being in a situation and trying to ask myself, "What can I learn from this? What does the Lord want me to take from this experience?" But it has made the whole mess more bearable. I know the priesthood is a real power, and even though I wasn't instantly healed, I believe in its power and those who carry it. I know He hears our prayers even though He might not grant the blessings we ask for. He loves us individually. He has a plan for each of us that will make us happier and better than our own plans would make us. I know the Savior lives and has born our sins, but even more than that, I know that He has born my sorrows, my pains, my trials, my frustrations, and all the unfair things that happen to me. Even though I'm crying as I write this post, these are tears of joy and love and appreciation to my husband, my family, the doctors, the hospital, modern medicine, and the Lord. I am doing well, and I am happy.

Washington Adventures

We really want to get as much done here before we leave for Texas. And believe me, we've done a lot!! Sorry, this one is long with lots of pictures.

We are excited to see the Wulfs.
This is mostly what our drive looked like. While it's somewhat boring, it's also pretty, huh?
Happy! And I'm trying out a new part in my hair. Like it?
We visited Palouse Falls again to hike around in better weather.

Tracy is dangerously (according to me) close to the edge. I hope he doesn't kill himself on geology field trips in the future.

Tracy on Pride Rock. (Because it sticks out--yes, I named it Pride Rock.) Too bad we don't have a kid so he could hold it up. But then again, I wouldn't want my baby hanging over a cliff. Nevermind.

Enjoying the sun and wind.
Tracy is in the background.
The shortest telephone pole ever.
The Wulfs' dog, Suzie, loves car rides.
Crates of apples. Lots of crates of apples. Well, it's Washington.
We tried to go to Mount St. Helens, but the road to it was closed, so we drove around on nauseating, twisty roads to hike somewhere else.
Want old news? We've got it here!
Shania and Dominic.
Jill and Idil.
Hahahaha!! My father-in-law is the only person I have met who can fall asleep faster than Tracy. And no, I didn't put that hat there. It fell off his head when he fell asleep.
We passed a little town that was hosting a big festival. You can find pretty much anything at those things.
The navigators come up with plan B--Multnoma Falls in western Washington.
The boys.
Happy to be out of the car.
The smaller waterfall was about seventy feet high. The larger waterfall was over five hundred feet high. HUGE!!!

A view of the Columbia River from the hike to the top of the falls.
After Tracy took this picture, about twelve other people had to do it. Yep, we're trendsetters.
I didn't realize my neck was so strained. Whoops! But that was a cute little bridge, and the water was really cold and refreshing.

The top of the five-hundred-foot waterfall. Don't look down!

Hahahahaha!! I laughed so hard when I heard Tracy's parents talking about this bridge. I thought it was joke. But no! I made Tracy pull over to get this picture.
Tracy is testing out his parents' bed. It is so comfortable. I slept all day and night on it when I got sick this past week. It can raise the head and feet. He had both maxed out, so he was sitting at a right angle. What a goof!!!
At the Kennewick Mall, they have art exhibit made out of canned goods.
Want fries with your burger and drink?
Happy nuclear plants. I know. It seems wrong.
Happy Memorial Day!!!

Although I am really looking forward to moving, I realize that Washington has some pretty cool things going for it.