Jesse's new job!

Jesse was down on the coast in Mobile, Alabama all last week for orientation. They stayed at this hotel downtown...


Here he is downtown...


And here is the whole group who trained with Jesse. All of them are working at different Army Corps offices, from Honolulu to Boston.


I loved hearing what Jesse ate for dinner every night because they went to some restaurants that he would never choose. They had Thai one night and went to two different seafood restaurants. Which, if you know my husband, is quite funny because he hates seafood and had never had Thai before. They did have barbecue the first night, which he LOVES. Anyway, one night he text me and said, " I just ate 21 fried crab claws, 12 hushpuppies, an 8oz. filet mignon, a slice of Mississippi mud pie, 3 glasses of Sprite, and a handfull of fried dill pickle slices." I found that to be quite humorous and surprising. :)

He had two days to recover and then it was time for his first day in his new office! Here he is right before he left. I told him to wake me up so I could take a picture of him. :)

He looked so cute all dressed up, with his badge and formal clothes. :)

All day I was dying to know how it was going! I didn't want to call and bother him, but I really wanted to "check on him." :) He went out to lunch with some of his new coworkers (they had Thai food again-ha!) and he later sent me a message saying everything was fine. :) He got home that night and told me all about it. It's slow this week because they are waiting to have access to their computers but the people are friendly and he's enjoying his flex time. He had almost 50 hours of work last week at training so he has Friday off. Yay! We're planning on going to the beach to enjoy the 85-degree weather!






The view right outside of his office. He saw an aircraft carrier go past his office yesterday! Not your usual work office experience :) One of the perks of his Army clearance is being able to get onto the Naval Base here, where he can drive right up next to the nuclear submarine and aircraft carrier docks. Norfolk is the largest port in the world so there are some very impressive ships that come through here!


Where he'll spend most of his lunch breaks!


This building/complex is called the Nauticus and it includes the Battleship Wisconsin (the country's largest battleship), the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the Norfolk Cruise Terminal. More specifically it is a "maritime-themed science center featuring hands-on exhibits, interactive theaters, aquaria, digital high-definition films, and an extensive variety of educational programs." I'm sure we'll be there soon. :)

ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE...

Isn't this pretty??


It's a view from our deck, which we are really enjoying! I'll post some more pictures of that soon because we just got some new chairs last weekend. And I admit...I found them on Craig's List. But they were exactly what I was looking for and they were a great deal! They look so cute and now I'm searching for some outdoor cushions for them, which is tricky because I think they are out of season now. Any ideas??


Jesse recently spray painted our dining room mirror black because it was a tacky gold color that didn't match anything we had! It looks a lot better!

Also fun, my parents and sister sent me some cute things for my birthday...



Just noticed that I didn't catch the backwards knife-oops!


Love this platter!

So what have I been up to, you ask? Well, I've been applying for jobs..which is getting really OLD. I am desperate for a schedule and routine again! I've also been taking care of little odds and ends that occur when you move to a new state, your husband starts a new job, just recently changed your address and phone number, etc. I've also been cooking/baking a lot...which has been fun.


For instance, two loaves of pumpkin bread. Yum!


And an addicting snack mix, which made a disaster in my oven. Quite surprised the smoke alarm didn't go off actually.

I also made a batch of chili and my mom's chicken divan for the first time. I was really hoping it would taste exactly like hers and it did! And I have a bunch of leftovers, which are just as good! :) The next thing I'm going to try is a new vegetable or potato soup..haven't decided yet. I love cooking during this time of year!