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Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Kennedy Clan Elves
We are hard at work celebrating the season! We are anticipating our first New Jersey snow on Saturday & cannot WAIT!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Happy Holidays & a Much-Needed Update
Hello one & all!
We are so sorry it has been so long since we last posted. Things have really taken off in a big way, as you'll read shortly.
As we posted last, Parisa finally got offered a job & accepted the position as Human Resources Coordinator for Century 21 Department Stores. She has been getting settled into the new work environment & learning the ropes of working in Human Resources. She has been busy & working overtime from the first week, learning to interview, hire & train new hires, as well as the ridiculous amount of paperwork that is involved in working in a Human Resources department. Especially with the Holiday season upon us, the store (and Parisa's department) have been absolutely booming. It's a good thing because it means job security & lots of work to keep busy, but it has meant some very, very long hours at work.
Jonathan's semester is rapidly coming to a close. It's been a whirlwind semester full of reading, paper-writing, & long hours spent at the library, but he has loved every minute of it. We can't believe he only has 1 week of classes left! This semester has gone by entirely too fast.
Aside from the craziness of work & school, we've had quite a few other events going on too. Parisa worked the New York City Marathon on October 31 & November 1, & it was an AMAZING experience. She got to see Ryan Hall, Paula Radcliffe, Mary Whitenberg, Meb Keflezighi, & so many other awesome runners. She was right on the start line & finish lane, & it was truly one of the most intense & emotional experiences ever. She also has a plethora of pictures & video from the race that she'll post on Facebook for all to share. We both spent Halloween in New York City attending the Alice show (our friend Leena's band). We shared a meal & took in the sounds of Alice the band. It was so much fun! After the show, we experienced the insane streets of New York City on Halloween night. We had a hotel room in Brooklyn, & using the subway was an interesting experience. There were SO many people on the streets that night, it was crazy. As Jonathan stated, "all these people in costumes makes it hard to distinguish the crazies from the normal people". So true. Parisa's brother Cyrus came to visit for a whole week leading up to Thanksgiving & we had a blast. We spent a lot of time exploring Manhattan & hanging out in Madison. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we went stayed in a Marriott in downtown Manhattan & woke up early Thanksgiving morning to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Attending the Parade was on Parisa's "Must Do Before I Die" List, & needless to say, she was EXCITED about going. We watched the Parade from center stage on Central Park West, & got to see the whole thing up close. It was so awesome. For pictures of the Parade & Cyrus' visit, please visit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084752&id=44406868&l=fc6bb8c29b . Leena & her husband Adam were very gracious & opened their home to us to spend Thanksgiving with them. The food & the company was just wonderful :) We are very grateful to have such generous, kind-hearted friends! We played lots of games after the meal, & the girls dominated the Game Triathlon. We had a great time!
Now we are REALLY looking forward to coming home for Christmas! Jonathan will home for a whole week, & Parisa will fly in town on Christmas Eve to spend the weekend with our wonderful families. We are very much looking forward to seeing our loved ones.
This weekend was spent turning our apartment into a Winter Wonderland. Our first Christmas tree is up & decorated, & the rest of our apartment has been transformed for the holiday season, & is full of lights, ornaments, & candy canes. To end the awesome Saturday we spent together, we got Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks (our absolute favorite!) and watched Christmas Vacation. It was just the perfect day. It was so nice to spend a whole day together just decorating & enjoying the season. :)
Happy Holiday Season to Everyone! Let us know what your plans for the Holidays are!
Fa La La La La La La La La,
Parisa & Jonathan
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Autumn Has Arrived
There has been so many hectic things that have happened over the past 2 weeks, hence the lack of update. We're not even sure where to begin! We apologize for the delay in posting!
The weather here is already cold enough to be a Texas winter. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling (the high is usually in the low 40’s!), & we’re learning what it’s like to actually have an autumn season. New Jersey is so pretty this time of year!
Parisa has been making some wonderful new friends, & the group of Drew girls she's been hanging out with are so fun, sweet, welcoming & hilarious. She feels incredibly lucky to have such a great group of friends & is grateful that they've been so welcoming. As for our "couple friends", we've been so excited to spend more time with Leena & Adam, & our downstairs neighbor Julia just got married about a week ago, so we're excited to hang out with her & her husband Jeremy once they get back from their Mediterranean honeymoon. Jonathan has also been making some really great friends here at Drew, & we are adjusting & finding a way to balance work, school, friends & married life. We can't express enough how excited & happy we are to be a part of the wonderful Drew community, and how much we appreciate how welcoming everyone has been to us.
During the past 2 weeks, we've had our first visitors! Our mutual friend (and bridesmaid) Tiffany drove in from Ohio with her roomate Ashley to visit us for a long weekend. The girls enjoyed sightseeing in New York City & hanging out in Madison. This weekend, Ralph & Naomi (Parisa's friends from high school) have come to visit us, & we are so excited to have them! It's been great to have familiar faces around again, & we've all been having a great (and hilarious) time together :) We are looking forward to many more visitors! We're especially excited to have Cyrus (Parisa's brother) come stay with us for a whole week over Thanksgiving! Cyrus purchased his plane ticket a couple of weeks ago, & we are REALLY looking forward ro his visit! Parisa & Cyrus are very close, so this will be a much-needed reunion for them both. We're really looking forward to hanging out with him in Madison & the city, and we are also very excited about the 3 of us going to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning!
Over the course of the past 3 weeks, Parisa has had 3 interviews with a company called Century 21 Department Stores. She was interviewing for a position as a Human Resources Coordinator at the Morristown location (which is less than 4 miles from our apartment!). After the first interview, Parisa got called back for a 2nd interview the following week. Both interviews went very well, & Parisa was sent to Manhattan for a 3rd & final interview with the Director & Executive Director of Human Resources. Both of those interviews also went very well, & this Tuesday Parisa got a call we've been looking forward to for months... A JOB OFFER! Parisa was offered a full time position as a Human Resources Coordinator & gladly accepted! Her first day will be this Tuesday :) We are SO relieved & excited about this, & thank God for opening up this opportunity to us. With the economy the way it is, finances have been very tight, & full time (and decent paying) jobs have been very hard to come by. Needless to say, this is a HUGE praise report!
Everything here is looking up & is in full swing. We have much to be grateful & thankful for, & we really appreciate all the prayers & good thoughts you have all sent our way over the past few months, as we've been settling in to marriage & the northeast. We'd love to hear from all our friends; please let us know how you're doing! We'll post this week all about Parisa's job & also let you know how Jonathan's reading week at school has gone.
We've finished settling into our apartment & have posted pictures for you all to see! Please see the following link to view pictures of our humble abode: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081427&id=44406868&l=f40542e3f2
Bundling up for the frigid northeast autumn-
Parisa & Jonathan
The weather here is already cold enough to be a Texas winter. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling (the high is usually in the low 40’s!), & we’re learning what it’s like to actually have an autumn season. New Jersey is so pretty this time of year!
Parisa has been making some wonderful new friends, & the group of Drew girls she's been hanging out with are so fun, sweet, welcoming & hilarious. She feels incredibly lucky to have such a great group of friends & is grateful that they've been so welcoming. As for our "couple friends", we've been so excited to spend more time with Leena & Adam, & our downstairs neighbor Julia just got married about a week ago, so we're excited to hang out with her & her husband Jeremy once they get back from their Mediterranean honeymoon. Jonathan has also been making some really great friends here at Drew, & we are adjusting & finding a way to balance work, school, friends & married life. We can't express enough how excited & happy we are to be a part of the wonderful Drew community, and how much we appreciate how welcoming everyone has been to us.
During the past 2 weeks, we've had our first visitors! Our mutual friend (and bridesmaid) Tiffany drove in from Ohio with her roomate Ashley to visit us for a long weekend. The girls enjoyed sightseeing in New York City & hanging out in Madison. This weekend, Ralph & Naomi (Parisa's friends from high school) have come to visit us, & we are so excited to have them! It's been great to have familiar faces around again, & we've all been having a great (and hilarious) time together :) We are looking forward to many more visitors! We're especially excited to have Cyrus (Parisa's brother) come stay with us for a whole week over Thanksgiving! Cyrus purchased his plane ticket a couple of weeks ago, & we are REALLY looking forward ro his visit! Parisa & Cyrus are very close, so this will be a much-needed reunion for them both. We're really looking forward to hanging out with him in Madison & the city, and we are also very excited about the 3 of us going to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning!
Over the course of the past 3 weeks, Parisa has had 3 interviews with a company called Century 21 Department Stores. She was interviewing for a position as a Human Resources Coordinator at the Morristown location (which is less than 4 miles from our apartment!). After the first interview, Parisa got called back for a 2nd interview the following week. Both interviews went very well, & Parisa was sent to Manhattan for a 3rd & final interview with the Director & Executive Director of Human Resources. Both of those interviews also went very well, & this Tuesday Parisa got a call we've been looking forward to for months... A JOB OFFER! Parisa was offered a full time position as a Human Resources Coordinator & gladly accepted! Her first day will be this Tuesday :) We are SO relieved & excited about this, & thank God for opening up this opportunity to us. With the economy the way it is, finances have been very tight, & full time (and decent paying) jobs have been very hard to come by. Needless to say, this is a HUGE praise report!
Everything here is looking up & is in full swing. We have much to be grateful & thankful for, & we really appreciate all the prayers & good thoughts you have all sent our way over the past few months, as we've been settling in to marriage & the northeast. We'd love to hear from all our friends; please let us know how you're doing! We'll post this week all about Parisa's job & also let you know how Jonathan's reading week at school has gone.
We've finished settling into our apartment & have posted pictures for you all to see! Please see the following link to view pictures of our humble abode: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081427&id=44406868&l=f40542e3f2
Bundling up for the frigid northeast autumn-
Parisa & Jonathan
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Looks Like It's All Coming Together
Greetings from the Forest! (Do you also have deer sneaking in your apartment community to eat your shrubs & soccer fields? Funny enough, this is a major problem here)
This week has been both eventful & uneventful. As most of you know, Jonathan got a job working at REI, and this week was the store's soft opening. Thus, every employee was required to work more shifts than usual, Jonathan included. He's been completely swamped trying to manage his heavy load of schoolwork & working at REI. When he's not at the store working, he's in the library or at our stud desk working; luckily, this coming week seems to be much less REI-related work, so hopefully we'll actually get to see each other!
Parisa's godparents came to NYC this week on vacation, so she spent the majority of the week hanging out in Manhattan. She also had an interview with the New York Foundling organization in Staten Island, & a phone interview with an organization called New Leaders for New Schools. Both interviews went very well, & Parisa was offered the social work job at the New York Foundling organization. The position is only 1-2 shifts a week, so she is continuing to look for a full time position. However, the work she'll be doing there is extremely rewarding & she's really looking forward to working in a hospital & gaining some social work experience working with adolescents. Parisa is waiting to hear back from a couple of other job possibilities this coming week, so please pray for good news!
Aside from working, cleaning & studying, this weekend we got to hang out with some great Drew friends. Parisa spent some time at a yard sale with a small group of great Drew girls that go to school with Jonathan & really enjoyed getting to talk & get to know them better. Saturday night we double dated with Leena & Adam at a delicious burrito place in a nearby town. It was SUCH a great Saturday! We're really looking forward to spending more time & getting to know Leena & Adam much better. What a wonderful family they are! :) We did get a chance to hit the local movie theatre & see The Informant, which we found to be pretty disappointing. (Side note: the theatre here only has 4 screens! Crazy.)
Overall, it's been a great week. Looking ahead into this week: We're (finally!) getting a nice, big, comfy couch tomorrow, & moving some boxes into a storage unit. The finishing touches will be put on our apartment after all that is done, & then we will post pictures of our humble abode. We're so excited to have this major project finally completed, haha! Parisa is also really looking forward to going to a party on Monday night for one of our neighbors that's getting married next weekend. Our neighbor, Julia, is getting married in Philly next weekend & a bunch of the Drew girls are getting together to give her a fun send-off! Weddings are so exciting :)
Well, we miss everyone terribly & hope you're all doing well. Please email us & let us know how you're doing! We'd love to hear from you all.
Hoping that Texas is warmer than New Jersey,
Parisa & Jonathan
This week has been both eventful & uneventful. As most of you know, Jonathan got a job working at REI, and this week was the store's soft opening. Thus, every employee was required to work more shifts than usual, Jonathan included. He's been completely swamped trying to manage his heavy load of schoolwork & working at REI. When he's not at the store working, he's in the library or at our stud desk working; luckily, this coming week seems to be much less REI-related work, so hopefully we'll actually get to see each other!
Parisa's godparents came to NYC this week on vacation, so she spent the majority of the week hanging out in Manhattan. She also had an interview with the New York Foundling organization in Staten Island, & a phone interview with an organization called New Leaders for New Schools. Both interviews went very well, & Parisa was offered the social work job at the New York Foundling organization. The position is only 1-2 shifts a week, so she is continuing to look for a full time position. However, the work she'll be doing there is extremely rewarding & she's really looking forward to working in a hospital & gaining some social work experience working with adolescents. Parisa is waiting to hear back from a couple of other job possibilities this coming week, so please pray for good news!
Aside from working, cleaning & studying, this weekend we got to hang out with some great Drew friends. Parisa spent some time at a yard sale with a small group of great Drew girls that go to school with Jonathan & really enjoyed getting to talk & get to know them better. Saturday night we double dated with Leena & Adam at a delicious burrito place in a nearby town. It was SUCH a great Saturday! We're really looking forward to spending more time & getting to know Leena & Adam much better. What a wonderful family they are! :) We did get a chance to hit the local movie theatre & see The Informant, which we found to be pretty disappointing. (Side note: the theatre here only has 4 screens! Crazy.)
Overall, it's been a great week. Looking ahead into this week: We're (finally!) getting a nice, big, comfy couch tomorrow, & moving some boxes into a storage unit. The finishing touches will be put on our apartment after all that is done, & then we will post pictures of our humble abode. We're so excited to have this major project finally completed, haha! Parisa is also really looking forward to going to a party on Monday night for one of our neighbors that's getting married next weekend. Our neighbor, Julia, is getting married in Philly next weekend & a bunch of the Drew girls are getting together to give her a fun send-off! Weddings are so exciting :)
Well, we miss everyone terribly & hope you're all doing well. Please email us & let us know how you're doing! We'd love to hear from you all.
Hoping that Texas is warmer than New Jersey,
Parisa & Jonathan
Monday, September 14, 2009
Siyahamba
Greetings! A few updates from our neck of the forest:
Last Thursday was the Matriculation Service for all incoming grad students at Drew. During the service, all the students' names are called & they go to the front & sign "the book". Every single class has had this same Matriculation Service & signed the SAME BOOK since the beginning of Drew- in 1867! It was a very reverent & awesome service. As we were exiting, the choir started singing this African worship song called "Siyahamba". We tried looking for a good version to share with you from YouTube, but the recorded videos did the song no justice. But, we do strongly encourage you to check it out & listen to it. For some reason, it was so very moving, & really made us feel so joyful! Please be sure to check it out, as it plays quite frequently now in our home; love that song!
School is in full swing for Jonathan, & he's loving every minute of it. It keeps him very, very busy, but it's the kind of work that he loves & enjoys more than anything else in the world: schoolwork. It's so great to see him really excelling & immersing himself in his schoolwork, especially because Drew is turning out to be everything Jonathan thought it'd be (and more). Parisa is taking a physics class & physics lab at a local community college, and while she doesn't really love the school, she's coming to learn that she loves physics. :) Math is so fun!
Parisa is still job-hunting (very aggressively) & spent a grand total of 14 consecutive hours this weekend researching & applying for jobs online. She was offered a job at a hotel, but decided not to take it. (The interviewers for the job were the Front Desk supervisor & the General Manager, both of whom were awful to Parisa. In addition to that, the hours & the pay were pretty bad also). So, she's continuing to look for work & trusting that the right job will be waiting for her very soon. There have been lots of potential leads, but nothing has been nailed down yet. Please keep praying!
We have been meeting lots of new people & making some awesome new friends! We've made a few friends who even live in our building, which is so great. Thursday was spent hanging out with a large group of Jonathan's grad school friends at an on-campus hangout, & we had a blast. Then Sunday, we went to a church in the neighboring town with Jonathan's friend Drew (yes, Drew from Drew, haha) & loved it there. Jonathan's academic dean actually is a major part of the church we attended, so it was good to see her there too. All in all, we're beginning to make friends & really get to know the great community of people that are here. We're very, very excited about that! It's something we've been looking forward to for a long time (building a strong community of friends & really getting involved) and it's so amazing to begin to see it start to come to fruition.
This week's plans include school, work (for Jonathan), a trip to the twice-a-week local farmer's market, & Parisa's godmother is coming to NYC for a visit! We have a few things that we have to hurry up & finish at the apartment to make it presentable (Parisa is finishing up painting the living room walls dark red & khaki) but it's almost up to snuff!
We hope everyone has a fabulous week! Please let us know how you're doing. We'd love to hear from you!
Goodnight & Good Luck,
Parisa & Jonathan
Last Thursday was the Matriculation Service for all incoming grad students at Drew. During the service, all the students' names are called & they go to the front & sign "the book". Every single class has had this same Matriculation Service & signed the SAME BOOK since the beginning of Drew- in 1867! It was a very reverent & awesome service. As we were exiting, the choir started singing this African worship song called "Siyahamba". We tried looking for a good version to share with you from YouTube, but the recorded videos did the song no justice. But, we do strongly encourage you to check it out & listen to it. For some reason, it was so very moving, & really made us feel so joyful! Please be sure to check it out, as it plays quite frequently now in our home; love that song!
School is in full swing for Jonathan, & he's loving every minute of it. It keeps him very, very busy, but it's the kind of work that he loves & enjoys more than anything else in the world: schoolwork. It's so great to see him really excelling & immersing himself in his schoolwork, especially because Drew is turning out to be everything Jonathan thought it'd be (and more). Parisa is taking a physics class & physics lab at a local community college, and while she doesn't really love the school, she's coming to learn that she loves physics. :) Math is so fun!
Parisa is still job-hunting (very aggressively) & spent a grand total of 14 consecutive hours this weekend researching & applying for jobs online. She was offered a job at a hotel, but decided not to take it. (The interviewers for the job were the Front Desk supervisor & the General Manager, both of whom were awful to Parisa. In addition to that, the hours & the pay were pretty bad also). So, she's continuing to look for work & trusting that the right job will be waiting for her very soon. There have been lots of potential leads, but nothing has been nailed down yet. Please keep praying!
We have been meeting lots of new people & making some awesome new friends! We've made a few friends who even live in our building, which is so great. Thursday was spent hanging out with a large group of Jonathan's grad school friends at an on-campus hangout, & we had a blast. Then Sunday, we went to a church in the neighboring town with Jonathan's friend Drew (yes, Drew from Drew, haha) & loved it there. Jonathan's academic dean actually is a major part of the church we attended, so it was good to see her there too. All in all, we're beginning to make friends & really get to know the great community of people that are here. We're very, very excited about that! It's something we've been looking forward to for a long time (building a strong community of friends & really getting involved) and it's so amazing to begin to see it start to come to fruition.
This week's plans include school, work (for Jonathan), a trip to the twice-a-week local farmer's market, & Parisa's godmother is coming to NYC for a visit! We have a few things that we have to hurry up & finish at the apartment to make it presentable (Parisa is finishing up painting the living room walls dark red & khaki) but it's almost up to snuff!
We hope everyone has a fabulous week! Please let us know how you're doing. We'd love to hear from you!
Goodnight & Good Luck,
Parisa & Jonathan
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Ah, Look At All The Lonely People
... "Eleanor Rigby. Picks up the rice in a church where a wedding has been.
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?..."
It's for Parisa.
(Disclaimer: the following post is written solely by Parisa. Get excited with anticipation.)
I'm sure most of you know this, but the name our Jonathan & I's dog is Eleanor Rigby (affectionately known by those who love her as Ellie). We adopted her from the Humane Society together over 2 years ago & she's been the light of our lives ever since. She is the cutest, smartest, strangest, most full of personality & affectionate dog I've ever met. She sits on her bottom & raises her arms like a bear, as soon as she hears me pick up my purse & keys she runs to her "room" (crate) & waits for me to shut her door, she cocks her head from side to side when you talk to her, & she even runs & picks up her Santa toy (out of a pile of different toys) on command.
I had "custody" of Ellie before Jonathan & I got married & she was the best friend a girl could ask for. I swear, as weird as it may sound to some people, we truly had a routine together, & when our routine was altered, neither of us coped very well. Whenever we'd go on a trip & Ellie would stay at the Bahrami house, she'd sit by the front door on on the landing of the steps & cry & cry for us.
When we decided to move to New Jersey, the one thing I would not compromise on as far as our living situation was that the complex had to be pet friendly. After 3.5 long months of researching, looking & discussing, it looked like we had found an awesome apartment that we were both so excited about. The catch? It's not pet friendly.
It was not a decision that we're ok with & it's not a decision I'm happy with at all, but we really didn't have any other choice. Ellie is staying with my parents on an extended vacation, until we our lease is up & we move to a different apartment in June. I am so, so grateful to my parents for taking her & caring for her, because they know her so well & know her routine & mannerisms. I know she's in great hands. But not having here here has been... hard, to say the least. Before, I always knew no matter what had happened during the day, when I went home, there was a little pup who was elated to be with me. To snuggle with & play with & just love on me. And really, to let me love on her. On top of being away from my comfort zone, being away from my family & friends, Ellie isn't here with me either. Luckily my parents are awesome & send me pictures regularly & I look at them all the time, but it's not the same. I know it sounds crazy, but I really feel like I've abandoned my kid.
It's not permanent at all & we take care of Ellie from a distance still now, & she'll move to NJ with us as soon as we move to a new place, but I still feel like deep down, she thinks we've given her away. And that breaks my heart.
I know I'm probably being dramatic, & we really are so blessed to have the amazing apartment that we're living in & be in the gorgeous area that we are in, & to be living out the dream that we've talked about for so long. A lot of people don't get to actually live out their dreams; I realize how incredibly blessed we are. I just wish Ells Bells could be here to share it with us, & that our family unit would be all together again. I just need to keep reminding myself that the situation we're in right now is the best situation for everyone, & it's only temporary...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Welcome to the Jungle .... er, Forest
This blog is long overdue! In a nutshell, here is how we got to New Jersey safely, & what happened along the way:
We had packed up & cleaned the apartment by Thursday night (August 21, I believe). We spent hours loading the Uhaul trailer, loading the remainder of Jonathan’s things from his parents’ house, & back to the apartment to clean up. Friday afternoon, we turned in our apartment keys & headed to the Bahrami house in Frisco to spend our last night with them. The Uhaul needed to be unloaded & re-arranged, so we thought it’d be a good idea to back the trailer (attached to Parisa’s truck) into the garage, so unloading & re-loading would be much easier, & we’d have the garage light in case it got dark. We pulled the truck into the alleyway, & Parisa got out to direct Jonathan to back the trailer into the driveway. Well… we ended up striping the hitch holding the trailer to the truck & popped the hitch and the bumper. We were left scrambling at 7:30 pm on a Friday night trying to find a new trailer hitch. Luckily a Uhaul store nearby was still open. We got a new hitch, unloaded & reloaded the trailer, & loaded the back of the truck. Our “relaxing” night with our family didn’t even begin til 10:30 pm. We watched “The Strangers” & ate great food Parisa’s mom prepared, & didn’t go to bed til about 2:30 am.
Because of staying up so late, we also got a late start in the morning. Instead of leaving at 5 am as planned, we departed at 9 am. We had to stop about 2 hours into the trip to get bungee cables to re-enforce the tarp covering our belongings in the truck. With that taken care of, we were on our way again.
It was a loooong trip. We drove through Texas, Arkansas, and almost all of Tennessee on the first day of driving. Our plan was to make it to Roanoake, VA the first day & drive a shorter distance on the second day. Unfortunately because of our late start, & the fact Tennessee seemed to be the never-ending state, we didn’t make it to Virginia. We stopped at a hotel off the highway in Tennessee & restlessly slept a few hours. We got up on the second morning very early & after a Starbucks trip, we hit the road. We drove through the remainder of Tennessee, then Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania & finnaly New Jersey. Although the route was very long, it was simply gorgeous. The abundance of trees & scenery was just breathtaking!
We got to Madison about 10 pm on Sunday night. We headed over to the Public Safety office to pick up our apartment key, as the main office was closed. After about a 20 minute encounter with a very unhelpful Public Satefy officer, we finally had the keys to our new home- and a second wind. We decided to move forward with unloading the back of the truck, and the entire Uhaul. We were both getting very tired & it was very hot, so Parisa went out to get some drinks.
Well, we learned the hard way that small town life is MUCH different than Dallas life. As in, nothing is open here on Sundays, let alone at 11 pm. This includes gas stations. After a 45 minute search, Parisa finally found a rinky-dink gas station to buy water at… only to discover she’d left her wallet at the new apartment, & had Jonathan’s phone with her. Not ideal.
We’ve basically spent the past 2 weeks getting settled. We bought dark red & khaki paint to paint the living room, & rustic earthbrown paint for the bedroom. We have made many trips to Home Depot & Target for shelving, storage units, etc., as the “closet” we have in our apartment is barely big enough for even Jonathan’s clothes. The small living space is a HUGE change from what we’re used to (our kitchen is so small it doesn’t have a counter or dishwasher) especially in terms of storage & shelving space, but we’re taking measures to make it work. Regardless, this is our first real home together & we’re very excited about making it our own & creating a “home-y” environment. Plus, our apartment is in the middle of the woods & right next to a playground, so you can’t beat the view.
All in all, we made it to Jersey safely, & are slowly getting more familiar with the area & the different way of life here. It's definitely an adjustment period, but we're in love with our new surroundings :)
With love,
Parisa & Jonathan
We had packed up & cleaned the apartment by Thursday night (August 21, I believe). We spent hours loading the Uhaul trailer, loading the remainder of Jonathan’s things from his parents’ house, & back to the apartment to clean up. Friday afternoon, we turned in our apartment keys & headed to the Bahrami house in Frisco to spend our last night with them. The Uhaul needed to be unloaded & re-arranged, so we thought it’d be a good idea to back the trailer (attached to Parisa’s truck) into the garage, so unloading & re-loading would be much easier, & we’d have the garage light in case it got dark. We pulled the truck into the alleyway, & Parisa got out to direct Jonathan to back the trailer into the driveway. Well… we ended up striping the hitch holding the trailer to the truck & popped the hitch and the bumper. We were left scrambling at 7:30 pm on a Friday night trying to find a new trailer hitch. Luckily a Uhaul store nearby was still open. We got a new hitch, unloaded & reloaded the trailer, & loaded the back of the truck. Our “relaxing” night with our family didn’t even begin til 10:30 pm. We watched “The Strangers” & ate great food Parisa’s mom prepared, & didn’t go to bed til about 2:30 am.
Because of staying up so late, we also got a late start in the morning. Instead of leaving at 5 am as planned, we departed at 9 am. We had to stop about 2 hours into the trip to get bungee cables to re-enforce the tarp covering our belongings in the truck. With that taken care of, we were on our way again.
It was a loooong trip. We drove through Texas, Arkansas, and almost all of Tennessee on the first day of driving. Our plan was to make it to Roanoake, VA the first day & drive a shorter distance on the second day. Unfortunately because of our late start, & the fact Tennessee seemed to be the never-ending state, we didn’t make it to Virginia. We stopped at a hotel off the highway in Tennessee & restlessly slept a few hours. We got up on the second morning very early & after a Starbucks trip, we hit the road. We drove through the remainder of Tennessee, then Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania & finnaly New Jersey. Although the route was very long, it was simply gorgeous. The abundance of trees & scenery was just breathtaking!
We got to Madison about 10 pm on Sunday night. We headed over to the Public Safety office to pick up our apartment key, as the main office was closed. After about a 20 minute encounter with a very unhelpful Public Satefy officer, we finally had the keys to our new home- and a second wind. We decided to move forward with unloading the back of the truck, and the entire Uhaul. We were both getting very tired & it was very hot, so Parisa went out to get some drinks.
Well, we learned the hard way that small town life is MUCH different than Dallas life. As in, nothing is open here on Sundays, let alone at 11 pm. This includes gas stations. After a 45 minute search, Parisa finally found a rinky-dink gas station to buy water at… only to discover she’d left her wallet at the new apartment, & had Jonathan’s phone with her. Not ideal.
We’ve basically spent the past 2 weeks getting settled. We bought dark red & khaki paint to paint the living room, & rustic earthbrown paint for the bedroom. We have made many trips to Home Depot & Target for shelving, storage units, etc., as the “closet” we have in our apartment is barely big enough for even Jonathan’s clothes. The small living space is a HUGE change from what we’re used to (our kitchen is so small it doesn’t have a counter or dishwasher) especially in terms of storage & shelving space, but we’re taking measures to make it work. Regardless, this is our first real home together & we’re very excited about making it our own & creating a “home-y” environment. Plus, our apartment is in the middle of the woods & right next to a playground, so you can’t beat the view.
All in all, we made it to Jersey safely, & are slowly getting more familiar with the area & the different way of life here. It's definitely an adjustment period, but we're in love with our new surroundings :)
With love,
Parisa & Jonathan
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Deep in the Heart of... New Jersey?
We have finally arrived!
It took 2 very full days of driving, many gas stations trips & hours of CD's, but we made it to New Jersey. It was a very eventful, frustrating & hilarious trip all together, & we've spent every waking moment since we got here unpacking, going to interviews or to orientations.
Full scoop of our long haul up here & our first week as Garden Staters to come shortly. We miss you all & are anxious to hear from you!
We promise to update more this weekend,
Parisa & Jonathan
It took 2 very full days of driving, many gas stations trips & hours of CD's, but we made it to New Jersey. It was a very eventful, frustrating & hilarious trip all together, & we've spent every waking moment since we got here unpacking, going to interviews or to orientations.
Full scoop of our long haul up here & our first week as Garden Staters to come shortly. We miss you all & are anxious to hear from you!
We promise to update more this weekend,
Parisa & Jonathan
Friday, August 21, 2009
Last Day as Texans
The long awaited, much anticipated day is finally here. Today is our last day in Texas, as we're hitting the road at 4 am tomorrow. We're so excited but it is truly bittersweet. We'll miss our absolutely wonderful & supportive families, who have been our anchors throughout the crazy busy year of engagement, wedding planning, & now moving. We'll miss our amazing friends (who really feel like just a part of our family) who we love spending time with, laughing with, & partaking in shenanigans with. We'll miss you all so, so much & we promise to keep in touch. We will keep you updated & we will see you SOON! We're documenting our roadtrip via camcorder, so we'll be sure to post the footage once we get settled in, as well as some pics of the new apartment & gorgeous Madison. And now, a tribute to our hometown:
Top 5 Reasons We'll Miss Dallas
1. Highways that actually make sense (which seems to be lacking in NJ)
2. Accessibility to mall shopping, regardless of what part of the metroplex you're in
3. Texas hospitality... nothing quite like it
4. Hearing other people say "y'all" on a regular basis
5. The familiar feeling of just being home. We both proudly call Dallas home, & this city will be missed.
Thank you all for all your support, reassurance, comfort, laughter, friendship & all your love over the years. Please pray that our marriage continues to grow stronger, that we'll settle in quickly & start building the community we've longed for for a while now, & that our path will be clear. We'll be back before you know it, & can't wait to see you all again very, very soon.
Safe journies,
Parisa & Jonathan - the newest additions to the Garden State
Top 5 Reasons We'll Miss Dallas
1. Highways that actually make sense (which seems to be lacking in NJ)
2. Accessibility to mall shopping, regardless of what part of the metroplex you're in
3. Texas hospitality... nothing quite like it
4. Hearing other people say "y'all" on a regular basis
5. The familiar feeling of just being home. We both proudly call Dallas home, & this city will be missed.
Thank you all for all your support, reassurance, comfort, laughter, friendship & all your love over the years. Please pray that our marriage continues to grow stronger, that we'll settle in quickly & start building the community we've longed for for a while now, & that our path will be clear. We'll be back before you know it, & can't wait to see you all again very, very soon.
Safe journies,
Parisa & Jonathan - the newest additions to the Garden State
Monday, August 17, 2009
We're Movin' On Up, To The East Side...
We're back from our NYC trip!
We had such a great time touring NY & NJ. We kicked off the week by celebrating Parisa's birthday with NYC shopping, dinner, Times Square & a movie. It was a much-needed and relaxing start to our trip. We got to visit with an old friend of Jonathan's & his wife while we were there. They gave us a great tour of Alphabet City & were such wonderful hosts. Our heartfelt thanks to Greg & Hannah for opening their home to us & letting us hang out with them (and for introducing us to the delicious wonders of Vietnamese sandwiches!). The last few days were spent in Jersey, getting more familiar with Madison, the public transit system, & the Drew campus. We even were able to view our apartment, which is PERFECT. It is on the top floor of the apartment building, more spacious than we had anticipated, & overlooks a playground & gorgeous forest. It even has this great seafoam greenish-blue tiling in the bathroom, which adds so much character to it. We couldn't ask for more!
The job search is going well. Parisa has 2 interviews lined up for the week we arrive in New Jersey, so please keep that in your prayers.
This week will be really busy with packing, packing, packing. We're putting as much as we can into boxes & loading up the truck & Uhaul; we embark on our journey bright & early Saturday morning! We are SO excited, & this visit to NYC & Madison really got us anxious & looking forward to this new phase in our lives together.
Top 10 Reasons We're Excited About Living In The Northeast: (in no particular order):
1. NYC culture: we're less than half an hour away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway, all the independent restaurants, bookstores, & markets you could ever ask for, & the diversity is so vast.
2. Climate: the end of triple digit temperatures! We look forward to actual snow, having 4 full seasons, & to 90 degree temperatures being a "scorching" irregularity
3. Public Transit: the availability of subways, trains & buses. We can now spend 30 minutes reading on a train & let someone else worry about the traffic.
4. Parisa becomes a Real Housewife of New Jersey: This one needs no explanation.
5. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: We've secured a hotel in Manhattan for the day before Thanksgiving & look forward to attending the parade this year! It'll be fulfilling one of Parisa's "must do before I die" goals, & we're excited to start new traditions as a family.
6. Hiking/Outdoors: Jonathan has exhausted all Southwestern trails, & we both really look forward to exploring the new & scenic trails the Northeast has to offer. The Catskills & Adirondacks are just a short drive away. We'll also be super close to some great skiing & snowboarding!
7. Living on the set of Gilmore Girls: Seriously. If any of you have seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. Madison has one main street (actually called "Main Street", haha) and they entire city looks like it JUST fell off the set of Gilmore Girls. This township is so beautiful & small town-esque, it is almost surreal.
8. Developing Community: We are really looking forward to growing closer in our marriage, & building a great community of friends. We greatly look forward to building deep & lasting friendships, with families who are in our same life stage & we can share with & relate to. We are looking forward to a fresh start as a family unit in a completely new city, & really getting involved with the school & church.
9. Best of Both Worlds: We are going to live in a quiet, small town, & be a ridiculously short distance to the hustle & bustle of NYC. Aside from that, other states are a short car ride away, which will make for great & affordable weekend getaways.
10. Visitors: We look forward to having our family & friends come visit us! We really want to show you our new city & new place. PLEASE come visit us, as much as you can, for as long as you can! We'd love to have you come stay with us & let us show you all the sights :) This is not an empty offer- we really would love to share this new phase of our lives with you!
We love you all deeply & can't wait until we are finally moved in & settled! We'll be updating the blog towards the end of this week with our Final Dallas Farewell, so be sure to check in.
Until then,
Jonathan & Parisa
We had such a great time touring NY & NJ. We kicked off the week by celebrating Parisa's birthday with NYC shopping, dinner, Times Square & a movie. It was a much-needed and relaxing start to our trip. We got to visit with an old friend of Jonathan's & his wife while we were there. They gave us a great tour of Alphabet City & were such wonderful hosts. Our heartfelt thanks to Greg & Hannah for opening their home to us & letting us hang out with them (and for introducing us to the delicious wonders of Vietnamese sandwiches!). The last few days were spent in Jersey, getting more familiar with Madison, the public transit system, & the Drew campus. We even were able to view our apartment, which is PERFECT. It is on the top floor of the apartment building, more spacious than we had anticipated, & overlooks a playground & gorgeous forest. It even has this great seafoam greenish-blue tiling in the bathroom, which adds so much character to it. We couldn't ask for more!
The job search is going well. Parisa has 2 interviews lined up for the week we arrive in New Jersey, so please keep that in your prayers.
This week will be really busy with packing, packing, packing. We're putting as much as we can into boxes & loading up the truck & Uhaul; we embark on our journey bright & early Saturday morning! We are SO excited, & this visit to NYC & Madison really got us anxious & looking forward to this new phase in our lives together.
Top 10 Reasons We're Excited About Living In The Northeast: (in no particular order):
1. NYC culture: we're less than half an hour away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway, all the independent restaurants, bookstores, & markets you could ever ask for, & the diversity is so vast.
2. Climate: the end of triple digit temperatures! We look forward to actual snow, having 4 full seasons, & to 90 degree temperatures being a "scorching" irregularity
3. Public Transit: the availability of subways, trains & buses. We can now spend 30 minutes reading on a train & let someone else worry about the traffic.
4. Parisa becomes a Real Housewife of New Jersey: This one needs no explanation.
5. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: We've secured a hotel in Manhattan for the day before Thanksgiving & look forward to attending the parade this year! It'll be fulfilling one of Parisa's "must do before I die" goals, & we're excited to start new traditions as a family.
6. Hiking/Outdoors: Jonathan has exhausted all Southwestern trails, & we both really look forward to exploring the new & scenic trails the Northeast has to offer. The Catskills & Adirondacks are just a short drive away. We'll also be super close to some great skiing & snowboarding!
7. Living on the set of Gilmore Girls: Seriously. If any of you have seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. Madison has one main street (actually called "Main Street", haha) and they entire city looks like it JUST fell off the set of Gilmore Girls. This township is so beautiful & small town-esque, it is almost surreal.
8. Developing Community: We are really looking forward to growing closer in our marriage, & building a great community of friends. We greatly look forward to building deep & lasting friendships, with families who are in our same life stage & we can share with & relate to. We are looking forward to a fresh start as a family unit in a completely new city, & really getting involved with the school & church.
9. Best of Both Worlds: We are going to live in a quiet, small town, & be a ridiculously short distance to the hustle & bustle of NYC. Aside from that, other states are a short car ride away, which will make for great & affordable weekend getaways.
10. Visitors: We look forward to having our family & friends come visit us! We really want to show you our new city & new place. PLEASE come visit us, as much as you can, for as long as you can! We'd love to have you come stay with us & let us show you all the sights :) This is not an empty offer- we really would love to share this new phase of our lives with you!
We love you all deeply & can't wait until we are finally moved in & settled! We'll be updating the blog towards the end of this week with our Final Dallas Farewell, so be sure to check in.
Until then,
Jonathan & Parisa
Friday, August 7, 2009
Home Is Where The Heart Is
Breaking News: WE HAVE AN APARTMENT!!!
We are pleased to announce that we are turning in the paperwork Monday & are confirmed as new residents of Madison, New Jersey! We have the perfect little (really, really little) home secured right in the heart of Madison, & Drew U! We're really excited about getting to check this huge "To Do" off our list. Address to come.
One little "living in the Northeast" quirk that we're going to have to get used to: no A/C units in the home. Almost all the homes. Heaters are included. In Texas, these would be un-liveable conditions. Nutso!
We're heading to NYC tomorrow morning for a week- to celebrate Parisa's Birthday (August 9th!) and to get better acquainted with the area, as well as job search. Wish us luck!
We're leaving on a jet plane,
Parisa & Jonathan
Monday, July 27, 2009
Like Sands Through The Hourglass...
... So are the days of our lives.
We had a great week of babysitting & spending quality time with our nieces. Angie, Katey & Madey were in Dallas for the week so Angie could attend a conference for work. Parisa had a chance to really spend quality time with the girls & they had an absolute blast. Pictures soon to come.
No updates on the move. The apartment we wanted didn't work out & no jobs for either of us yet. We're hoping our August visit will really help tie up some loose ends in regards to jobs & housing, although we'd hoped it would all have been taken care of by now. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers.
The search continues...
We had a great week of babysitting & spending quality time with our nieces. Angie, Katey & Madey were in Dallas for the week so Angie could attend a conference for work. Parisa had a chance to really spend quality time with the girls & they had an absolute blast. Pictures soon to come.
No updates on the move. The apartment we wanted didn't work out & no jobs for either of us yet. We're hoping our August visit will really help tie up some loose ends in regards to jobs & housing, although we'd hoped it would all have been taken care of by now. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers.
The search continues...
Monday, July 20, 2009
T Minus One Month
The countdown to move day continues... we are officially ONE MONTH out!
We are ecstatic... and terrified. We still don't have an apartment secured, & we still don't have jobs. It's not for lack of trying... we are just in waiting limbo. Jonathan was able to register for his classes this week, & now has a definite school schedule; we are very excited about that! We are really looking forward to his 4 day new student orientation, & Parisa even gets to go with Jonathan for two of the orientation days :) Pretty cool.
Please continue to really pray for us as we are heading down the home stretch. Parisa especially is getting really anxious & we are just really hoping to get work & apartment confirmations as soon as possible.
This weekend we headed to Austin to visit Parisa's best friend since freshman year of high school, Melissa (or as she is more affectionately known- Missa). We got to attend a Roller Derby Pillow Fight match, go to a birthday bash with a huge, adult-sized Slip N Slide, & go swimming in Barton Springs. We even ate kebabs from a stand at 2 am & Parisa tried her first crepes. It was an overall very relaxing, much needed & awesome trip. Thank you to Missa & Marcus for entertaining us & being such wonderful & gracious hosts.
We are ecstatic... and terrified. We still don't have an apartment secured, & we still don't have jobs. It's not for lack of trying... we are just in waiting limbo. Jonathan was able to register for his classes this week, & now has a definite school schedule; we are very excited about that! We are really looking forward to his 4 day new student orientation, & Parisa even gets to go with Jonathan for two of the orientation days :) Pretty cool.
Please continue to really pray for us as we are heading down the home stretch. Parisa especially is getting really anxious & we are just really hoping to get work & apartment confirmations as soon as possible.
This weekend we headed to Austin to visit Parisa's best friend since freshman year of high school, Melissa (or as she is more affectionately known- Missa). We got to attend a Roller Derby Pillow Fight match, go to a birthday bash with a huge, adult-sized Slip N Slide, & go swimming in Barton Springs. We even ate kebabs from a stand at 2 am & Parisa tried her first crepes. It was an overall very relaxing, much needed & awesome trip. Thank you to Missa & Marcus for entertaining us & being such wonderful & gracious hosts.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
No Better & No Worse
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), we have nothing new to report.
We enjoyed a fairly quiet weekend. Nothing dramatic has changed, nothing special has happened. We will officially be going to NYC from August 8th until August 14th. We were going to stay 2 extra days, but the weekend of August 14th will be our last weekend in Dallas, so we figured it would be best spent surrounding ourselves with friends & family. It'll be nice to get our bearings of the area before we move out there the following week, & we get to spend Parisa's birthday celebrating in NYC. That's pretty stinking cool, & something we're both really looking forward to.
Other than that, we are still waiting in limbo for the apartment to get approved & a job to be handed over. We have decided to get a 2 bedroom townhome, so we strongly encourage all friends & family members to seriously consider making a trip to visit. Parisa gets especially homesick & sentimental, so please know that this is not an empty offer. We mean it when we say come visit! We have to wait for approval for our home still, & are anxious to get that locked down. Hopefully we'll hear back next week...
We're also really looking forward to seeing our nieces next week! Parisa gets to babysit them for 2 days, & has already planned a list of activities to maximize their time together. We can't wait to see the girls! We'll also be heading to Austin this weekend to get some R&R with one of Parisa's oldest & best friends Melissa. Missa, as she's more affectionately known, will be moving to Chicago about the same time we are moving to NY, so it'll be a treat to get together before we all head to the north.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers!
Signing off,
Jonathan & Parisa
We enjoyed a fairly quiet weekend. Nothing dramatic has changed, nothing special has happened. We will officially be going to NYC from August 8th until August 14th. We were going to stay 2 extra days, but the weekend of August 14th will be our last weekend in Dallas, so we figured it would be best spent surrounding ourselves with friends & family. It'll be nice to get our bearings of the area before we move out there the following week, & we get to spend Parisa's birthday celebrating in NYC. That's pretty stinking cool, & something we're both really looking forward to.
Other than that, we are still waiting in limbo for the apartment to get approved & a job to be handed over. We have decided to get a 2 bedroom townhome, so we strongly encourage all friends & family members to seriously consider making a trip to visit. Parisa gets especially homesick & sentimental, so please know that this is not an empty offer. We mean it when we say come visit! We have to wait for approval for our home still, & are anxious to get that locked down. Hopefully we'll hear back next week...
We're also really looking forward to seeing our nieces next week! Parisa gets to babysit them for 2 days, & has already planned a list of activities to maximize their time together. We can't wait to see the girls! We'll also be heading to Austin this weekend to get some R&R with one of Parisa's oldest & best friends Melissa. Missa, as she's more affectionately known, will be moving to Chicago about the same time we are moving to NY, so it'll be a treat to get together before we all head to the north.
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers!
Signing off,
Jonathan & Parisa
Friday, July 10, 2009
You're the Target That I'm Aiming At
Warning to Readers: You will see Coldplay quoted entirely too much in our blogs, as Parisa is obessessed. If the blog titles don't always make sense, now you know why, & we apologize in advance. :)
Now that that's out of the way... Quite a bit has happened over the course of the past few days!
First, we got to spend Fourth of July weekend with Parisa's favorite person in the whole world, her little brother Cyrus. We all hung out at home, watching movies & eating waaaaay too much junk food. Then we geared up our picnic basket & coolers & attempted to watch fireworks in Williams Square in Las Colinas. Going to Williams Square for Fourth of July is a Bahrami family tradition. However, we were pretty disappointed by the fireworks display this year (or lack thereof) and how poorly the event was planned. Despite that, we all shared a great weekend together. We even managed to fit in a trip to Yogurtville. Of course. :)
The Buckles family reunion was in Virginia during this same period, & we were sooo sad to have to miss that. We really wanted to go but the expense was something we couldn't afford right now, as the move is our priority. We have heard wonderful reports of how much fun everyone had & the pictures all look so awesome! We're really sad we couldn't be there but have already started planning a trip to visit the Buckles family when we move to NJ, which will be an infinitely shorter drive.
It feels like we made some serious "NJ Move" progress this week (although we haven't technically been able to cross anything off our To Do list). We found the perfect apartment! It's right in Madison, half a mile from Jonathan's school (walking/ biking distance! Hooray!), they have 1 & 2 bedroom units, they're pet friendly, and both units are available on our move in date! It almost seems too good to be true. We filed our application this week, & they will be doing a thorough renter's and credit history check. Please pray that we are approved for this apartment complex. The price & units are exactly what we've been searching for. It would be such a huge blessing to have this major task marked off the list. I know we would both feel a huge sense of relief.
Also, previously (in fact, in the last post I think) we had mentioned that we were praying for a financial blessing or for an opportunity to present itself that would allow one of us, if not both, to return to NYC/NJ once more before we move there. Well, ask & you shall receive. The family Parisa works for has decided to take a family vacation the entire week of her birthday. Therefore, they are giving her one week's paid vacation time. This is huge because we didn't have any days off that would give time or opportunity to leave Dallas for more than a weekend at a time, & most places in NY/NJ are closed on the weekend. Furthermore, Parisa has been gifted a plane ticket to NYC for the entire week!!! This news is HUGE for us. Now, we can take the money we were going to use to buy one ticket & put it towards a ticket for Jonathan, so we can both go! To say we are happy is the world's biggest understatement. We couldn't have asked for this to come at a better time. Now, we can go really get an idea of what is in the area we are going to live in, how far things are from our apartment, get more familiar with the roads, etc. We are so freaking happy & excited about this. It's funny, you always hear the cliche "ask & you shall receive" but I've never had such a blatant answer to a prayer before. God is good :)
Parisa has a few good leads on jobs in Nj thanks to a great friend of ours, Kelly. She was able to provide us with some "insider" information which has been invaluable & we can't thank her enough for all the extra time & effort she's put in to helping out with the job search. Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers, & support, and definitely keep them coming. Like I said before, it feels like we really made some good progress this week but we still have much to do :)
Now that that's out of the way... Quite a bit has happened over the course of the past few days!
First, we got to spend Fourth of July weekend with Parisa's favorite person in the whole world, her little brother Cyrus. We all hung out at home, watching movies & eating waaaaay too much junk food. Then we geared up our picnic basket & coolers & attempted to watch fireworks in Williams Square in Las Colinas. Going to Williams Square for Fourth of July is a Bahrami family tradition. However, we were pretty disappointed by the fireworks display this year (or lack thereof) and how poorly the event was planned. Despite that, we all shared a great weekend together. We even managed to fit in a trip to Yogurtville. Of course. :)
The Buckles family reunion was in Virginia during this same period, & we were sooo sad to have to miss that. We really wanted to go but the expense was something we couldn't afford right now, as the move is our priority. We have heard wonderful reports of how much fun everyone had & the pictures all look so awesome! We're really sad we couldn't be there but have already started planning a trip to visit the Buckles family when we move to NJ, which will be an infinitely shorter drive.
It feels like we made some serious "NJ Move" progress this week (although we haven't technically been able to cross anything off our To Do list). We found the perfect apartment! It's right in Madison, half a mile from Jonathan's school (walking/ biking distance! Hooray!), they have 1 & 2 bedroom units, they're pet friendly, and both units are available on our move in date! It almost seems too good to be true. We filed our application this week, & they will be doing a thorough renter's and credit history check. Please pray that we are approved for this apartment complex. The price & units are exactly what we've been searching for. It would be such a huge blessing to have this major task marked off the list. I know we would both feel a huge sense of relief.
Also, previously (in fact, in the last post I think) we had mentioned that we were praying for a financial blessing or for an opportunity to present itself that would allow one of us, if not both, to return to NYC/NJ once more before we move there. Well, ask & you shall receive. The family Parisa works for has decided to take a family vacation the entire week of her birthday. Therefore, they are giving her one week's paid vacation time. This is huge because we didn't have any days off that would give time or opportunity to leave Dallas for more than a weekend at a time, & most places in NY/NJ are closed on the weekend. Furthermore, Parisa has been gifted a plane ticket to NYC for the entire week!!! This news is HUGE for us. Now, we can take the money we were going to use to buy one ticket & put it towards a ticket for Jonathan, so we can both go! To say we are happy is the world's biggest understatement. We couldn't have asked for this to come at a better time. Now, we can go really get an idea of what is in the area we are going to live in, how far things are from our apartment, get more familiar with the roads, etc. We are so freaking happy & excited about this. It's funny, you always hear the cliche "ask & you shall receive" but I've never had such a blatant answer to a prayer before. God is good :)
Parisa has a few good leads on jobs in Nj thanks to a great friend of ours, Kelly. She was able to provide us with some "insider" information which has been invaluable & we can't thank her enough for all the extra time & effort she's put in to helping out with the job search. Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers, & support, and definitely keep them coming. Like I said before, it feels like we really made some good progress this week but we still have much to do :)
And this random picture goes out to our nieces, whom we miss terribly & cannot WAIT to see in less than 2 weeks! (This is from our last Buda visit, when Uncle Jonathan thought it'd be funny to sit Madeline's princess chair while playing Katey's guitar. It was a hoot.)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Trying To Figure It All Out
The big move is about 6-7 weeks away, and we are still apartment-less & job-less. Not exactly what we'd been envisioning or hoping for.
We found out that Jonathan cannot register for classes at Drew until orientation- which is the week after we move to Madison, NJ. Not knowing your school schedule makes it impossible to apply for & be hired at a job, as most employers like to know when you will actually be able to work. Crazy, I know. As for Parisa, she's applied to countless positions in nearby Madison area hospitals & clinics, but to no avail. She's been pushing hard to find a job in the healthcare field & job searches daily, but you either need just a high school diploma or your PhD. It seems like there's no in between anymore. She continues looking daily at job boards, but if this continues, we'll both be happy to take any "starter" job we can get, & really make connections & find more permanent work once we are actually in Madison. As Angie said, Parisa could be a barista, & a good one :) Again, not ideal, but income is income. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers, as the job market is obviously not great right now.
As for the apartment situation, Parisa has found a few great places right near Drew, but we'd still really like to make a weekend trip to Madison to see it for ourselves. Financially it doesn't look like it'd be possible, although we have been discussing Parisa going to Madison alone for a weekend to figure out our living situation. Jonathan would rent us a shack if it were cheap & close to Drew, which is why Parisa will be (hopefully) making this trip :)
Other than that, there has been no changes in the Kennedy family. We are house & dog sitting for Jonathan's parents while they are in Virginia for the Buckles family reunion. We SO badly wanted to go but with all the upcoming trips & moving, it wasn't possible this year. We were really looking forward to spending the week in VA with the Buckles family, & for Parisa to get to meet & know them. Hopefully we'll be able to make the next family reunion! We can't wait to see pictures though.
We have posted about 200 pictures from our Greece honeymoon on Parisa's facebook page. For those of you who are interested, please feel free to check out the photos at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072070&id=44406868&l=33a56b4d7d
We'll leave you with a few of our favorite shots of Greece:
This is a shot from outside the Acropolis, with the city of Athens behind us
Standing at the Temple of Zeus (Olympion)
Sunset in Naxos. This is a shot from our hotel, looking at the Temple of Apollo
We found out that Jonathan cannot register for classes at Drew until orientation- which is the week after we move to Madison, NJ. Not knowing your school schedule makes it impossible to apply for & be hired at a job, as most employers like to know when you will actually be able to work. Crazy, I know. As for Parisa, she's applied to countless positions in nearby Madison area hospitals & clinics, but to no avail. She's been pushing hard to find a job in the healthcare field & job searches daily, but you either need just a high school diploma or your PhD. It seems like there's no in between anymore. She continues looking daily at job boards, but if this continues, we'll both be happy to take any "starter" job we can get, & really make connections & find more permanent work once we are actually in Madison. As Angie said, Parisa could be a barista, & a good one :) Again, not ideal, but income is income. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers, as the job market is obviously not great right now.
As for the apartment situation, Parisa has found a few great places right near Drew, but we'd still really like to make a weekend trip to Madison to see it for ourselves. Financially it doesn't look like it'd be possible, although we have been discussing Parisa going to Madison alone for a weekend to figure out our living situation. Jonathan would rent us a shack if it were cheap & close to Drew, which is why Parisa will be (hopefully) making this trip :)
Other than that, there has been no changes in the Kennedy family. We are house & dog sitting for Jonathan's parents while they are in Virginia for the Buckles family reunion. We SO badly wanted to go but with all the upcoming trips & moving, it wasn't possible this year. We were really looking forward to spending the week in VA with the Buckles family, & for Parisa to get to meet & know them. Hopefully we'll be able to make the next family reunion! We can't wait to see pictures though.
We have posted about 200 pictures from our Greece honeymoon on Parisa's facebook page. For those of you who are interested, please feel free to check out the photos at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072070&id=44406868&l=33a56b4d7d
We'll leave you with a few of our favorite shots of Greece:
This is a shot from outside the Acropolis, with the city of Athens behind usStanding at the Temple of Zeus (Olympion)Sunset in Naxos. This is a shot from our hotel, looking at the Temple of Apollo
Monday, June 22, 2009
First Married Roadtrip
This weekend, Jonathan & I took our first road trip as a married couple. We had a chance to go visit Jonathan's sister & her family down in Buda (just south of Austin). It was awesome! We got to play with our nieces Katey & Madeline all day, & even got some alone time with them when their parents ducked out for a lunch date.
From playing in the sandbox to watching their dance recital videos to several games of Pretty Pretty Princess (yes, Uncle Jon did play!), we had a complete blast with the girls. By bath & dinner time, we were all completely exhausted. The only downside of the trip is that while we were there, I managed to (accidentally!) break off the soap holder tile thing in the girls' bathroom, & spill ice cream all over their white carpet.... right after we had finished talking about how it must be hard to have white carpet with little kids. Awesome.
Other than those 2 small little instances, the weekend was a BLAST. We always miss the Wheeler clan, but I think neither of us realize exactly how much we miss them until we see them all. I almost cry everytime we or they have to leave! But luckily Jonathan has promised me at least 1 more Buda trip before we head to NJ, & I get to babysit my beautiful nieces for 2 whole days in July while Angie is in Dallas on business. I am really looking forward to it!
In other news, please be praying for our family & keeping us in your daily thoughts. I have applied to a number of hospitals & clinics in NJ, but have yet to hear back or get a bite from any of them. I am growing increasingly anxious with the move less than 8 weeks away. Also, please pray for a financial blessing or some means that will allow Jonathan & I to visit NJ once more before we move, in order to find appropriate & affordable housing. As much as we are both really looking forward to this great new adventure, I would really like to get all the details ironed out on our new living situation!
I will also be sure to post a few wedding & honeymoon pictures shortly as well.
Until next time,
Parisa & Jonathan
From playing in the sandbox to watching their dance recital videos to several games of Pretty Pretty Princess (yes, Uncle Jon did play!), we had a complete blast with the girls. By bath & dinner time, we were all completely exhausted. The only downside of the trip is that while we were there, I managed to (accidentally!) break off the soap holder tile thing in the girls' bathroom, & spill ice cream all over their white carpet.... right after we had finished talking about how it must be hard to have white carpet with little kids. Awesome.
Other than those 2 small little instances, the weekend was a BLAST. We always miss the Wheeler clan, but I think neither of us realize exactly how much we miss them until we see them all. I almost cry everytime we or they have to leave! But luckily Jonathan has promised me at least 1 more Buda trip before we head to NJ, & I get to babysit my beautiful nieces for 2 whole days in July while Angie is in Dallas on business. I am really looking forward to it!
In other news, please be praying for our family & keeping us in your daily thoughts. I have applied to a number of hospitals & clinics in NJ, but have yet to hear back or get a bite from any of them. I am growing increasingly anxious with the move less than 8 weeks away. Also, please pray for a financial blessing or some means that will allow Jonathan & I to visit NJ once more before we move, in order to find appropriate & affordable housing. As much as we are both really looking forward to this great new adventure, I would really like to get all the details ironed out on our new living situation!
I will also be sure to post a few wedding & honeymoon pictures shortly as well.
Until next time,
Parisa & Jonathan
Monday, June 15, 2009
Welcome!
Welcome to our blog! We are excited that you have taken a minute out of your busy day to check out our site & see what the new Kennedy family is up to.
Our hopes for this blog are to keep in better contact with our loved ones. Both Jonathan & I are too good at becoming so consumed & involved in our everyday lives that we begin to lose touch with those that are most important to us. Thus, we have created this site as a central hub so that our family & friends can "keep with the Kennedy family" & be more involved in our daily lives.
We are so blessed to have such great friends & family, & want to make more of a conscious effort to keep you updated with what is new with us. We have been settling into our new lives together & we encourage you to join along with us in this journey, and to keep in contact & stay updated in our lives as we make our big move to the northeast in the Fall.
We desire strongly to stay connected with you & want to know what is going on in your lives as well. We would love to follow along in your daily lives also! Please email us or post updates. We're love to hear from you.
Family Email: TheKennedys2009@gmail.com
Parisa's Email: ParisaGKennedy@gmail.com
Jonathan's Email: JonathanDKennedy@gmail.com
Thanks for visiting & we love you all!
PS- we promise to update once a week at the very least, so stay tuned :)
Our hopes for this blog are to keep in better contact with our loved ones. Both Jonathan & I are too good at becoming so consumed & involved in our everyday lives that we begin to lose touch with those that are most important to us. Thus, we have created this site as a central hub so that our family & friends can "keep with the Kennedy family" & be more involved in our daily lives.
We are so blessed to have such great friends & family, & want to make more of a conscious effort to keep you updated with what is new with us. We have been settling into our new lives together & we encourage you to join along with us in this journey, and to keep in contact & stay updated in our lives as we make our big move to the northeast in the Fall.
We desire strongly to stay connected with you & want to know what is going on in your lives as well. We would love to follow along in your daily lives also! Please email us or post updates. We're love to hear from you.
Family Email: TheKennedys2009@gmail.com
Parisa's Email: ParisaGKennedy@gmail.com
Jonathan's Email: JonathanDKennedy@gmail.com
Thanks for visiting & we love you all!
PS- we promise to update once a week at the very least, so stay tuned :)
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