Rare like the ruby at the bottom of the sea.: December 2008

We signed up for this a few months ago with the hopes of keeping up with our friends and family that we don't get the pleasure of seeing too often. Unfortunately, both of us have been extremely busy and haven't had time to check in or update. Until now! We figured we might as well start this off right and give anyone who is interested a quick update about what we've been up to lately. We realize that most of you who might read this can't be involved in our day to day lives, so a lot of this may sound a little strange to you.

Brad and I recently had a discussion about how seem to be drastically different that most married couples we know and after reading this blog, you will probably agree.

So what's been keeping us so busy lately?

Well, first off, both of our jobs are extremely demanding. Brad is working as a project manager at an architecture firm. He designs things such as custom homes, self-storage complexes, industrial condos, and retails centers. He's been with the company for almost four years now and absolutely loves it! He's been promoted twice and is now third in command. Way to go, Brad! And I have been working at a company called C.A.R.D. (Center for Autism and related Disorders) as a therapist. I do therapy with children who have been diagnosed with autism. I go to the children's homes and schools to provide ABA therapy and work closely with their families as well. I couldn't be happier with what I'm doing and I love all of the kids and families I work with! I can't imagine doing anything else!

Other than work, Brad and I are both very active in our local music scene. Brad is currently in two bands! He plays bass for both and is having a great time. His band, Antietam just released their first CD and it seems to be getting a great response. His other band, Butcher Jones just finished recording their debut demo and has since played their first two shows. These guys are working very hard and pouring their hearts into their music. I have also recently started playing with a band. I am doing vocals for a band called For Esme (named after a short story by J.D. Salinger.) We have been working really hard and writing for almost two months now. Things are progressing well for us and we are hoping to record a demo and have our first show around the beginning of March. And some big news for both of us! Brad's band, Butcher Jones has been asked to tour Southeast Asia in June and For Esme has been asked to come along! As of right now, the details have not yet been finalized, but tour dates are in the works for the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. If things go as planned, this will be a very exciting time for us both!

Other than work and music, I have been helping a few friends (Marion and Adrian) with a charity called "Project Compassion." We are collecting clothing items, books and non-perishable food items to distribute to homeless or at-risk youth in the Phoenix area. We plan to distribute these items along with sack lunches on Christmas day. So far, we have had a fantastic response from the local music community, providing us with bags upon bags of clothing! We have also already begun to dispense some clothing items to the homeless in the downtown Phoenix area. This is such a good thing to be a part of and just makes me realize how amazing our friends are and how big their hearts are!

I'm sure I could continue to write paragraphs about what we've been up to, but I'll save it for another time. If you made it this far, congratulations! I hope you enjoyed getting an insight into our lives. Here are a few pictures....